He is risen.
All right, by show of hands, who woke up and found an Easter basket with their name on it?
Show of hands.
All right.
Who had candy?
Candy in that vest?
That's what I'm talking about.
You know, yesterday, the Kenosha News had an article on the Easter egg hunt Library Square yesterday.
And I was here preparing.
I saw the whole thing.
It was a mob.
I guess there was a thousand participants.
It was a mob.
But one thing I noticed as I was peeking out the window, every little kid had their own basket.
And they were putting all the eggs they could in their basket.
All of their eggs were in one basket.
If you're a believer here this morning, if you're a Christian, or if you're thinking about becoming a Christian, you've got to realize that Christians put all of their eggs in one basket.
This is amazing.
As Christians, we base our entire lives on this one historic claim.
That Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead.
That's what we base our lives on.
The tomb is empty.
He's alive.
The amazing claim of the Christian faith is not just that the Messiah was crucified for sinners.
The amazing claim is that He was raised from the dead and that He's alive today.
He is risen.
And so this morning, I want to help you to see this historic claim of the Christian faith that Jesus is alive.
He's reigning and He's going to return.
He's alive.
So if you're new to this whole Christianity thing, or maybe you've been away for a while and you're coming back,
you've got to understand that Christians are people of the book.
We live under the book.
We believe this book to be God's Word.
And so we submit to it.
We trust it.
The New Testament starts with four books of the Bible.
They're called Gospels.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
And as Christians, we believe that they're trustworthy historical accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
So if you're new to the Christian faith, what you need to understand is that the Gospels are basically historical biographies of the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Now, each Gospel is written for a particular audience.
And so each Gospel has its own kind of style and flavor and emphasis.
It's like four members of a barbershop quartet singing the same Gospel story, all in perfect harmony.
And each Gospel closes with the same thing.
He is risen.
This morning, I want to turn to the book of Matthew.
As a church, we've been camping out in the book of Matthew.
We've been looking at the Sermon on the Mountain.
We're skipping ahead today to the end of the Gospel of Matthew.
I want to kind of walk you through the days leading up to Jesus' resurrection.
And I want to do it in sports center fashion.
Beep, beep, beep.
Beep.
I want to hit the highlights.
And so we're going to hit the highlights from the Sunday before.
We'll hit Thursday, Friday.
We'll kind of wait through Saturday.
And then Sunday hits.
Beep, beep, beep.
The greatest highlight ever.
In Matthew 21, the Sunday before the resurrection.
It's known as Palm Sunday.
Jesus on a donkey enters into Jerusalem.
And His disciples are laying cloaks down.
They're putting palm leaves down.
And as He's riding this humble donkey into Jerusalem, His peeps are there saying things like,
Hosanna to the Son of David.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Which means, God saves.
Salvation has come.
So Jesus enters Jerusalem the Sunday before He's crucified.
He goes into Jerusalem being praised.
People are saying, you're the Messiah.
You're the long-awaited Christ, the Son of David, who's come to Jerusalem to deliver His people from oppression.
And so the mindset of the time, the Jews in Jerusalem, they were, Jerusalem was occupied by Rome.
And so if you're a Jew living in Jerusalem and you saw Jesus coming in, you're thinking, is He the Messiah?
I hope so.
I hope He delivers us from the oppression of Rome.
Jerusalem was the city of David, the center of Jewish political and religious activity.
And Jerusalem was home to the Jewish temple where Jews believed God dwelt in their midst.
And so that Sunday, Jesus did come to Jerusalem on a donkey.
And He did come as the Messiah.
He was the promised one.
The long-awaited king, descendant of David.
It's true.
It was really Him.
He came to deliver His people, but in a most unexpected way.
His deliverance was not from the oppression of Rome.
He came to deliver people from the oppression of sin.
And His mighty act of deliverance was not an impressive flank from the south.
His mighty act of deliverance was Him laying down His own life on the cross.
Jesus entered Jerusalem to die on that Palm Sunday.
Beep, beep, beep.
We move to Thursday.
Thursday of Holy Week was the day of preparing the Passover.
And after night fell, Jesus and His disciples observed the Passover.
It was a highly symbolic meal, recalling the time in Israel's ancient history
when God delivered His people from the oppression of Egypt.
Do you remember this?
If you've seen the Prince of Egypt, Disney, maybe a little bit.
What happened is that the people of God slaughtered lambs
and wiped the blood of the lamb over the doorways of their homes
so that the angel of death would pass over their homes.
The lamb's blood delivered God's people from death.
Does that ring a bell?
So, this particular Thursday, the night before Jesus was crucified,
Jesus is with His disciples.
And by the way, He tells them at this point,
one of you is going to betray me,
the night before Judas had for 30 pieces of silver.
Well, at this Passover meal, we see this in chapter 26, verses 26 and 27.
During the Passover meal, Jesus institutes what's called the Lord's Supper.
What He's doing is He's essentially saying this.
It's a Passover meal.
And He's saying this with all authority.
Hey, from here on out, the Passover meal, it's going to point to me
as the ultimate Passover lamb.
The ultimate and final sacrifice to deliver God's people from their sin.
That week before Jesus is crucified and raised, a lot goes on.
Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper.
And afterwards, His disciples sing a hymn.
He tells them at this point, hey, you guys are going to get scattered tonight because of me.
Peter, of course, says, not me.
No, I will never fall away.
I'm dramatic like Peter was dramatic.
But Jesus says, yeah, you will.
And He says something really interesting at this point.
It's in chapter 26, 32.
He's just told His disciples they're going to scatter.
Then He says this, but after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.
This isn't the first time Jesus spoke of His resurrection in the Gospel of Matthew.
There are three other times before this.
So they leave.
They make their way to Gethsemane, which is at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
And it's in Gethsemane that Jesus prays and He wrestles.
Ask God for this cup to pass, but not His will, but God's will be done.
And it was in Gethsemane after Jesus prays, a mob shows up.
Led by Judas.
A crowd of Jewish leaders.
Armed.
I'm not sure if you remember this, but in order to indicate to the mob who it was they were to arrest,
Judas approaches Jesus and gives Him a kiss.
Betrayed with a kiss.
This is all according to God's plan, by the way.
It's fulfilled everything, everything that God anticipated and set out.
They arrest Jesus and it's here that Jesus is brought to the Sanhedrin to undergo His first trial.
Now, if the word Sanhedrin seems foreign to your ears, it should.
We don't use that every day.
And what it was, it was a group of Jewish authorities who would pass judgment on things.
A group of 70 men.
And so Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin and they're looking to charge Him so that they could kill Him.
And so they actually got two of their own witnesses to try to make a case against Jesus,
but their stories didn't corroborate.
And so they're like, whatever, they can't trust them.
And so Caiaphas, the high priest, finally and directly says to Jesus,
are you the Christ?
Are you the Son of God?
And in 2664, Jesus says to Caiaphas, you have said so.
And that would have been enough.
He wouldn't have gotten charged.
But then he goes on and says this,
But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.
He's quoting Daniel chapter 7.
A prophecy of the Son of Man who would be fully God to come.
Jesus is saying, I am.
In chapter 2665, Caiaphas, upon hearing these, tears his ropes.
Blasphemer!
Turns to the Sanhedrin.
What say you?
You've heard it.
You know what they say?
He deserves death.
Following that, Peter denies him three times.
Beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
Chapter 27.
We go from Thursday night to Friday morning.
And now Jesus experiences his second trial.
Before the Roman governor, Pilate.
You see, the Sanhedrin, though they had decided he deserved death,
they did not have the authority to actually put him to death.
Jerusalem was occupied by Rome.
And Rome, in order to maintain ultimate control over the area,
reserved judgment and death penalties for themselves.
That decision was Roman jurisdiction.
Which meant the Sanhedrin had to convince Pilate, the Roman governor,
to agree with him that Jesus needed to be crucified.
So they bring Jesus before Pilate in chapter 27, 11 through 14.
Pilate asks Jesus directly,
Are you the king of the Jews?
Jesus says,
You have said so.
Then he's accused again by the chief priests and elders,
to which Jesus says nothing,
like a lamb before its shearers.
And Pilate is amazed that he wouldn't say anything.
This point in chapter 27, we come across this custom.
And it was just strictly to get political points.
And so what would happen is that on this holiday,
when everyone came to Jerusalem,
Pilate would set a prisoner free
to just get political points.
Keep everybody happy.
And this time around,
Pilate goes to the crowds with two options.
He says,
I'm going to set somebody free.
You pick.
Either Barabbas,
who is a known robber and murderer,
an insurrectionist,
or Jesus,
this one you call the Christ.
Which one would you choose to release?
Pilate didn't realize this,
but the chief priests and elders
had already persuaded the crowds
to release Barabbas
in order to destroy Jesus.
You see that in chapter 27, verse 20.
So when Pilate asked the crowd,
Who do you want me to release to you?
The crowd says,
Barabbas!
To which Pilate asks,
So what should I do with Jesus, the Christ?
To which the crowd says,
Crucify Him!
Less than a week earlier.
Hosanna!
Pilate responds by saying,
What evil has He done?
The crowd,
Crucify Him!
In chapter 27, verse 24,
Pilate seeing that this is a no-win political situation.
He does that infamous act.
We all know it.
Water,
washing of his hands,
and says,
This man's blood
is not on my head.
I am innocent of this man's blood.
To which the crowd responds,
His blood be on us
and our children.
They had no idea
that this was the ultimate Passover lamb
whose blood would take away
the sin of the world.
They did not know that.
Tremendously ironic.
In 27, 26,
Pilate releases Barabbas
and sends Jesus over to Roman soldiers
to whom He would be scourged.
It's a device called
a cat of nine tails,
which is a whip with nine ends on it
was used for scourging.
And at the ends of the,
at the very tail ends of the tips
were pieces of bone and metal.
And so what you,
the technique was
you whip and you drag.
And you fillet people's backs.
It's brutal.
Jesus went,
was scourged,
spit upon,
struck,
mocked by Roman soldiers,
led out to Golgotha,
the place of the skull
outside Jerusalem.
And then there He was crucified,
nailed to the cross.
There was a sign over His head
that read,
this is Jesus,
King of the Jews.
Verse 37 of chapter 27.
We read that there are two thieves
that were crucified
on either side of Him
and that they were mocking Him.
There were passerbys
walking by,
wagging their heads,
saying,
come down from the cross,
deriding Him.
The chief priests,
scribes,
and elders were there
mocking Him as well.
In verse 41,
He saved others.
He cannot save Himself.
Let Him come down from the cross
and we will believe Him.
Let God deliver Him.
Mockety,
mockety,
mock.
They didn't think
that He would or could.
What they didn't realize
was that what was happening here
was all according to
the glorious plan
of the triune God
who wanted to save sinners.
This was all according to plan.
God and His great Son
had sent His Son
for sinners to save.
God had sent this Passover lamb
to deliver people
from their sin
through His death.
Beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
In verse 45 of chapter 27,
Jesus,
it's noon,
Jesus has been crucified,
though He's not dead.
He's hanging on the cross.
At noon,
darkness surrounds the land.
It's God's judgment
gathering over Jesus.
His just wrath.
At 3 o'clock that afternoon
is the cry of dereliction.
Jesus cries out,
Eli, Eli,
lame,
sebectani,
my God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
It's at that moment,
Isaiah 53, 6,
God has laid on Jesus
the sin of all
who would believe in Him
and He's pouring out
His wrath on Him.
The Son of God
is forsaken
by God the Father.
There's still the Son,
still the Father,
but He's enduring
the wrath
meant for those
sinners
that would one day believe.
In verse 50,
Jesus yields up
His Spirit.
It's important to note,
I made this point
on Friday.
He gave Himself.
His life was not
taken from Him.
He voluntarily
laid His life down.
He gave Himself
for you and for me.
He gave Himself
for sinners.
It was a voluntary sacrifice.
He was a substitute
for sinners.
And then there was
an earthquake.
Rock split.
Verse 54,
the centurion says,
truly this was
the Son of God.
He's the Christ.
He's the one.
He is who He was
claiming to be.
So Jesus dies.
Beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
Friday evening,
Joseph of Arimathea,
who Luke tells us
was a member
of the Sanhedrin,
but he did not,
he did not
consent to
Jesus' crucifixion.
Well, after Jesus dies,
Joseph of Arimathea
goes to Pilate
and requests
the body,
the dead body
of Jesus
so he can bury Him.
We see this
in 27,
57 through 61.
Pilate gives him
permission to take
the dead body
of Jesus,
brings it down,
Joseph brings
the dead body
of Jesus
to a tomb
that was hewn
out of rock
for Joseph.
And so,
he puts Jesus'
dead body
in this tomb
and that we read
is that he
rolled the stone
in front of the tomb
and the stone
was a huge stone
and it was moved
by gravity
and so the stone
would sit up
on a higher point
in a little well
and Joseph
would have pushed it.
I'm not sure
if there's any
other else
to push it
with him
and then it
would by gravity
drop into another
well in front
of the tomb
and it would
close the tomb.
Huge stone.
Jesus'
dead body
has been placed
inside the tomb,
sealed,
entrance,
no way getting in,
no way getting out.
And in verse 61
what we see
is this.
Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary
were there
sitting opposite
the tomb.
They saw
where Jesus'
body was laid.
They were there.
They were there
on that Friday night.
They saw
where the tomb was.
Jesus'
body placed
in the tomb.
He's dead.
Stone rolled
in the way.
Mary and Mary
see it.
Night falls.
Friday is done.
Beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
Beep.
We move on
to the next highlight.
Saturday morning
chapter 27
verses 62
and forward.
The chief priests
aren't done.
The chief priests
aren't done.
They and the Pharisees
go before Pilate
to request
a guard
to be placed
out in front
of the tomb.
A Roman guard.
Why?
Why would they do that?
If you look at verse 63
you see why.
They request
this guard
saying
sir we remember
how that imposter
said
while he was still alive
after three days
I will rise.
They knew
what Jesus
had said.
They knew
that he had prophesied
his own resurrection.
If you want to see
where in Matthew
Matthew 16
21
Matthew 17
22
through 23
Matthew 20
17
through 19
and when we
looked at
Matthew 26
32
these are all
places where
Jesus says
I'm going to
rise again.
They knew it
but you know what?
They didn't think
that he was going
to rise again.
They thought
the disciples
there was a possibility
that the disciples
would steal the body
and propagate
this rumor
this untruth
that he had been
raised from the dead
and it would be
bad.
Everyone thinks
he's dead.
Everyone thinks
Jesus is dead.
Pilate allows
a Roman guard
to be placed
at the tomb.
They go.
They secure the tomb
which means
they put a
seal on
the stone
in the tomb
and they set
a guard.
This was all
because the
Jewish authorities
of the time
were afraid
that the disciples
were going to
come back
steal the body
and say that
he was raised
from the dead.
Beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
Chapter 28.
The third day.
The first day
of the week.
Sunday morning.
The day after
the Sabbath.
Jews observed
Sabbath on Saturday.
Now after the
Sabbath toward the
dawn of the first
day of the week
Mary and Mary
went to see
the tomb.
The same
Mary and Mary
that saw
where the body
of Jesus
was laid.
they go.
Verse 2.
There's a great
earthquake.
This is the
second earthquake
that has taken
place in three
days.
Remember the
first earthquake
when Jesus
gave up his
spirit?
The curtain
at that moment
was torn in
two.
God had made
a way through
the death of
Jesus for
sinners to come
into the
presence of
a holy
God.
Earthquake!
It's epic!
And now
the second
earthquake.
Empty
tomb.
Angel of
Lord comes.
Rolls back
the stone
and then
sits on it.
He wasn't
sweating.
In verse
3.
His
appearance
was like
lightning
and his
clothing
white as
snow.
There was
no mistaking
who this
being was.
He was an
angel of
God.
It makes
your knees
knock.
And that's
what we see
happen with the
Roman guards.
They're trembling
in verse 4.
And became like
dead men.
I think they
dropped.
But this
angel did not
come to speak
to these Roman
guards.
angels.
He came to
speak to
Mary and
Mary.
By the way,
these same
Roman guards
we read later
in 28,
11 through
15,
they were
paid off
by the
Jewish
authorities
to not
say what
happened,
but to
actually say
the disciples
came and
stole the
body.
I'll come
back to
that in a
second.
Well,
this angel
turns to
the
Marys
and he
says to
them,
don't be
afraid for
I know that
you seek
Jesus who
was crucified.
He is not
here for
he has
risen.
Just as
he said,
come see
the place
where he
lies.
Look for
yourself,
it's empty.
Come on
in,
check it
out.
He's not
here,
he's been
raised.
My mind
goes like
this,
what's going
on in
heaven at
this point?
What's
going on?
What is
going on?
I think
there's
already
trumpets
blazing
and great
rejoicing
because
Jesus
has
risen
from the
dead.
The
angel
says
go
tell
disciples
that
he's
risen
from
the
dead
and
behold
he's
going
before
you
to
Galilee
like
he said
in
2632.
There
you will
see
him.
so
these
ladies
quickly
go
from
the
tomb
in
verse
8
and
they
have
this
mixture
of
fear
and
great
joy.
I
think
we
all
know
what
that
is.
And
behold
Jesus
meets
them
on
the
way
and
says
greetings
they
drop
at
his
feet
and
worship
him.
Eyewitness
presence
of the
risen
Christ
and
they
drop
at
his
feet
and
Jesus
says
them
do
not
be
afraid
go
and
tell
my
brothers
to
go
to
Galilee
and
there
they
will
see
me.
Eyewitnesses.
These
women are
the first
eyewitnesses
to see
the risen
Christ.
And
then
what
we
see
in
the
rest
of
the
New
Testament
Luke
24
John
20
and
21
1 Corinthians
15
Acts
chapter
9
we
see
account
after
account
of
eyewitnesses
to
the
resurrected
Jesus.
Do you
know what
the New
Testament
says
about
Jesus?
From
Matthew
to
Revelation
without
reservation
without
apology
the
New
Testament
proclaims
that the
Messiah
Jesus
was not
only
crucified
not only
was he
buried
but he
was raised
from the
dead.
That's the
overwhelming
witness of
the New
Testament.
He's
alive.
He's
risen.
He's
alive
today.
He's
alive
now.
And
this is
what I
want to
impress
upon you.
I
want to
ask you
a question.
Do
you
believe
that
he's
been
raised
from
the
dead?
Do
you
believe
that
the
resurrection
of
Jesus
Christ
from
the
dead
is
the
linchpin
of the
Christian
faith.
No
resurrection,
no
Christianity,
no
resurrection,
no
salvation.
Now there
are those
people who
say that
the historic
bodily
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ
didn't
happen.
They'll
say things
like this.
Jesus
wasn't
quite dead
on the
cross.
He was
taken
down.
He was
put into
the tomb
of
Joseph.
And in
that cool
place,
he revived.
Possible,
but it's
hard to
fathom,
given that
Jesus has
probably gone
through shock,
lost a ton
of blood
through the
scourging,
nails of
crown of
thorns,
nails in
his arms,
in his wrists,
in his feet,
piercing on
his side.
The guy's
got to have
gone through
shock.
And so
you're telling
me that he's
going to be
placed in the
tomb,
revive,
and then
find a
way within
his strength
to move
the tomb
and then
somehow sneak
by the
Roman guard
without being
detected.
I don't
think so
either.
There's a
better
explanation.
Some would
say the
disciples
hallucinated,
that they
wanted to
believe that
Jesus was
alive so
much that
they actually
thought that
they saw
him.
It was a
group
hallucination.
Interesting that
they all had
the same
one.
Tough to
believe.
There's another
theory that
says the
disciples went
to the wrong
tomb.
They just
got the
wrong
address.
You just
need to
produce a
body at
that point.
Oh, you
went to the
wrong tomb.
Here's the
dead body.
Here's the
right tomb.
And Mary
and Mary
being at
the tomb
of Joseph
of Arimathea
beforehand,
that discounts
that.
But what
about the
disciples
stealing his
body?
The very
thing that
the Jewish
authorities were
fearful of.
Could they
have done
that?
The best
explanation for
the empty
tomb is that
Jesus was
miraculously
raised from
the dead.
here's how
you counter
the claim
about
the
disciple
stealing
his
body.
Did you
know that
ten of the
eleven
disciples,
after Jesus'
death and
resurrection,
they were
radically
changed
people?
Remember
what happened
in Gethsemane?
They scattered.
They split
on them
like cowards.
And after
the resurrection,
they proclaim
him like
courageous
lions.
And ten
of eleven
go to
martyrs'
deaths,
not only
proclaiming
Messiah
crucified,
but Messiah
raised from
the dead.
They had
seen him.
Now let me
ask you this.
If they
had stolen
his body
from the
grave,
from the
tomb,
how could
they die
for that?
How could
someone die
for something
that they
know is a
lie?
You know
what the
better
explanation
is?
He was
raised from
the dead.
And they
saw him
with their
own eyes.
And it
changed them
forever.
And they
went proclaiming
the Messiah
crucified,
raised from
the dead,
and I don't
care what
you do to
me.
I don't
care what
you do to
me.
I don't
care what
you do to
do to
the
best
explanation
for the
empty tomb
is that
Jesus was
actually
raised from
the dead.
Do you
believe that
Jesus was
raised from
the dead?
Do you
believe it
was a
historic
event in
space and
time?
Do you
believe it
really
happened?
The
resurrection
validates who
Jesus claimed
to be.
Paul in
Romans 1
says the
resurrection
declares that
he's the
son of
God.
King of
kings,
Lord of
lords,
overall,
all
authority.
The
crucified
and risen
Messiah,
God in
the flesh,
raised,
risen,
reigning.
It also
goes to
Maun.
If he
said he
was going
to die
in the
hands of
these people
and then
be raised
three days
later,
and if it
was true,
then I
wonder what
else he
said.
And whether
that's true,
like what he
said about
himself,
like what he
said about
our nature
as human
beings,
that we
need a
savior,
and what
about is
going to
happen in
the future.
It adds
validity to
it all.
The
resurrection
validates who
Jesus claimed
to be and
what he
said.
The second
thing coming
out of this,
the resurrection
verifies that
the payment that
Jesus made
for sin on
Friday,
cleared on
Sunday.
You ever
make a
purchase and
you're looking
at your
kind of bank
app and
you see
something's
pending?
Saturday was
like pending
payment,
and Sunday
it cleared.
the payment
that Jesus
made for sin,
he bore God's
wrath on
Friday when
he was raised
from the dead
on Sunday.
It's the
declaration,
paid in full,
and it
cleared.
It cleared
for you,
it cleared
for me.
Those who
trust in
Christ are
confident that
Christ's payment
for their sin
paid for their
sin in full.
No more
wrath.
The
resurrection
is a
stamp that
verifies that.
Payment
accepted.
The
resurrection
also provides
power for
Christians over
sin.
Just really
brief,
when a
sinner
believes in
Jesus for
the first
time,
Romans 6
tells us
they're united
to Christ
in his
death and
resurrection.
They're
dead,
they're dead
to the
penalty of
sin,
and that
they're alive
to God
with resurrection
power.
So you
know what
this means
for us?
Brother and
sister in
Christ.
Okay,
when I was
in high
school,
I worked
for a guy,
we built
decks,
and we
would work
all day,
and then we
would go
back to his
house,
single guy,
and then I
would like
walk in,
and he would
like tackle
me,
and we
would like
wrestle all
through his
house,
going over
all sorts of
furniture,
and we would
get each other
in these
submission holds,
waiting for
one of us to
tap out.
it happened
like every
day.
I got
tough,
sort of,
but Christian,
you might be
sitting here,
and there's
some sin
that's got
this submission
hold over
your life.
Do you know
what you say
to it?
Christ
was raised
from the
dead.
The next
time you are
tempted,
you know
what you say?
Jesus was
raised from
the dead,
and I've
been placed
into Christ,
I've been
placed into
that power,
so I can
say no.
The
resurrection
of Christ
provides
sin-breaking
power for
Christians,
and if you're
a non-Christian
here,
and you want
to be set
free from
the power
of sin,
you go to
Jesus.
He paid
the penalty
and broke
the power,
but the
last,
the last
piece
of this
resurrection
of Christ
that makes
a difference
in our
life,
it gives
us hope
beyond the
grave.
Jesus'
resurrection
from the
dead was
his decisive
victory over
death.
Not only did
he conquer
sin,
he conquered
death.
And so
for those
of us who
believe in
Jesus,
we have
this confidence
that we
too will be
raised as
he has
been raised.
In
John 11,
Jesus says
this thing
to Martha,
the sister
of Lazarus,
who was a
bit of a
pit bull.
he says
to her,
I am the
resurrection
and the
life.
Whoever,
though he
die,
yet shall
he live.
Whoever
believes me,
though he
die,
yet shall
he live.
Do you
believe this?
You see,
Jesus'
own death
and resurrection
is the
grounds for
our confidence
that we
too will be
raised from
the dead.
So you know
what that
means?
When you think
about your own
death,
and I know
you do,
when you
think about
your own
death,
here's how
you need
to think
about it.
Your own
death is
like a
short,
dark
hallway
that leads
to this
bright
place
where your
resurrected
king
awaits you.
That's all
that it is.
That's all
that it is.
In
closing,
I want to
ask you two
questions this
morning.
Thank you.
First one is
simple.
Did the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ
really happen?
Did it?
If you're
saying no,
eat,
drink,
and be
merry,
for there's
nothing else.
But are you
saying no
because you
don't actually
want to deal
with the
information?
Don't say
no because
of that.
But if you
say yes,
yes,
I believe
it.
I believe
it happened.
Then you
need to go
on to the
second question.
And the
second question
is this.
If the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ from
the grave
actually
happened and
it declares
him to be
the son of
God,
Lord of
lords,
king of
kings,
he's got
authority over
all things,
then the
question becomes
have you
submitted
yourself to
him?
Have you
bowed your
knee to
the risen
king?
Have you
put all
of your
eggs in
his
basket?
He is
risen.
He is
reigning.
And one day
he's going to
return.
And we rejoice
in it all.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
there is no
one like
you.
You are our
risen king
and we
gladly declare
it and
proclaim it.
And so we're
going to sing
to you now
and we know
that you hear
us.
You are the
risen one.
You are the
king and we
will crown you
with many
crowns.
It's in your
name we pray.
Amen.