Happy Easter, it's great to worship with you all.
If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.
We'd love to give you a Bible that you can use
while you're here.
We are in Luke chapter 24.
So last Sunday, Good Friday, and today
we're out of our Revelation series,
which is what we've been doing,
so that we can remember more in greater detail
the death and resurrection of Jesus.
So we're in Luke chapter 24, verses 1 to 12.
Let me pray.
For the reading and preaching of God's word.
Heavenly Father, these are your people.
This is your church.
And we humble ourselves now before your word.
Exalt the name of your son, Jesus.
And impart to us, as we trust in him,
the power of his resurrection.
So that our daily lives are filled
with the hope.
With the hope that your resurrection brings.
Lord, make the dead alive this morning
by the power of your word.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word
from Luke 24, verses 1 to 12.
But on the first day of the week,
at early dawn,
they went to the tomb,
taking the spices they had prepared.
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
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.
And 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.
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 they remembered his words.
And returning from the tomb,
they told all these things
to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna
and Mary, the mother of James,
and the other woman with them
who told these things to the apostles.
But these words seemed to them
an idle tale,
and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb.
Stooping and looking in,
he saw the linen cloths by themselves,
and he went home marveling
at what had happened.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
During World War II,
in July 1944,
U.S. forces raided the island of Guam
as part of their offensive
against the Japanese soldiers
and their forces in the Pacific.
And Japanese soldiers,
including Shoichi Yokoi,
were scattered,
and they hid deep inside
the jungle of the island
in order to avoid being captured
as prisoners of war.
Shoichi Yokoi outlasted
all of his compatriots
and held out hope
that one day the Japanese army
would return to get him.
But eventually,
he was discovered
by local hunters
and dragged out of the jungle.
And as he was being dragged
out of the jungle,
panic seized him,
and he was afraid
that he was going to be given up
to the U.S. army
as a prisoner of war,
and he didn't want that,
so he started begging them,
just kill me now.
But they refused to kill him
because they were actually
trying to help him.
There were no U.S. soldiers
looking for him
because World War II
had been over
for 27 years already.
This is a true story.
You heard that right.
Shoichi Yokoi lived in hiding
in the jungle for 28 years.
Living in his makeshift
underground shelter
and surviving on a diet
of venomous toads
and river eels and rats.
All because he never heard the news
that the war was over.
This man was literally
living under a rock.
The good news of Jesus' death,
his atoning sacrifice
for our sins,
and his victorious resurrection
is an even more consequential news
than the end of World War II.
Jesus' life, death, and resurrection
single-handedly altered
the trajectory of entire human history.
Perhaps it might be better to say
that entire human history
up to that point
was leading to Jesus
and that the rest of human history
flows out of Jesus' life,
death, and resurrection
because God is the sovereign author
of human history.
It changes not only our present life,
but our eternal life.
And yet, many people in the world
are living as business as usual
because they have not heard,
and if they have heard,
they have not believed
in the resurrection of Jesus.
And that's the main burden
of this passage.
And if you hear that message today
and you believe it,
your life will be changed forever.
And this is the main point
of this passage,
to remember,
to tell of,
and to believe
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And we're going to talk about
those three things in turn,
to remember,
tell,
and believe.
It says in verse one,
Day is a reference
to the woman
who had come with Jesus
from Galilee
and was there
when he was dying
and saw where Jesus was buried
and then made a mental note
to go and prepare the spices
and come and anoint his body
because in those days
it was customary
to anoint deceased corpses,
basically human bodies,
so that it doesn't rot too quickly
to slow down the process
of decomposition.
And these faithful women
expected to find Jesus' body.
That's why they were
bringing the spices.
But there is a delightful surprise
waiting for them
in verses two and three.
It says,
And they found the stone
rolled away from the tomb.
But when they went in,
they did not find
the body of the Lord Jesus.
The repetition of the word find
highlights this contrast.
It forms a neat contrast
between verse two and verse three
and reveals the surprise
of the woman.
Their expectations
are upended in two ways.
They expected to find the stone
blocking the entrance,
but they find that the stone
is rolled away.
They expected to find
the body of Jesus,
but instead,
they do not find the body.
What could this possibly mean?
Luke is building
his suspense here in the narrative.
Verse four continues,
While they were perplexed
about this,
behold,
two men stood by them
in dazzling apparel.
We learn later in this chapter
in verse 23
that these two men
were actually two angels.
It is not uncommon in scripture
for angelic beings
to appear in the form of man,
in human likeness.
The word dazzling
gives it away,
the dazzling apparel.
That's the word
that was used to describe Jesus
when he was transfigured
on the mountain
into his heavenly glory.
He became dazzling white.
And so the presence here
of the two angels,
just as Jesus sent out
his disciples two by two
in Luke chapter 10
to bear witness to him
in all the towns
that they went through,
is an example
of the scriptural precedent
of having at least
two or three witnesses
to bear a credible testimony
that can be verified.
And so here,
the two angels
are giving that testimony
so that that message
can be transmitted
to God's people.
And as they were frightened
and bowed their face
to the ground,
the men said to them,
why do you seek
the living among the dead?
He's not here,
but has risen.
Why do you seek
the living among the dead?
He has risen.
That's actually in the passive,
and that means,
it could be translated,
he has been raised.
It's the divine passive
referring to the fact
that God the Father
is the one who raised
Jesus from the dead.
This is the way Luke
typically refers
to the resurrection.
So because God
has raised his son,
Jesus, from the dead,
the women should not
be searching for him
among the dead,
in the tombs,
but rather they should
be seeking him
among the living.
Jesus was raised
2,000 years ago now already,
but even today,
so many of us still
seek the living
among the dead.
Jesus is not
a mere historical figure.
He is a current figure,
a living person.
Do we listen to Jesus?
Do we talk with Jesus?
Do we spend time with Jesus?
Jesus' resurrection
has extensive implications
for our lives,
and Jesus' resurrection power
is available to us
as God's people,
but are we living
in light of those realities,
or are we still seeking
the living among the dead?
The angels remind the woman
in verses 5 to 9
of the necessity
and the significance
of the resurrection.
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
on the third day rise.
Jesus had specifically
in the Gospels
predicted his death
and resurrection
to his disciples,
and so the woman
and the apostles
should have known
that this would happen,
but it was so far beyond
their culture
and their expectation
that they didn't see it coming.
They had forgotten
what Jesus had told them.
The angel's exhortation
to remember jogs
the woman's memory,
and this produces
a pattern of the angel's word
and then the woman's response,
and that forms this structure
called chiasm,
which is literally a device
where the first half
mirrors the second half,
highlighting what's in the middle,
which stands alone.
So verses 5 to 6
are matched by verses 8 to 9.
In verses 5 to 6,
the woman,
the angels ask the woman,
why do you seek
the living among the dead?
And then tells them
to remember.
And then in verses 8 to 9,
the woman remember
the words of Jesus,
and then they return
from the tomb now
to the land of the living.
Sandwiched between
those two matching sections
is verse 7,
which is the focal point
of the entire passage.
That the Son of Man
must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified
and on the third day rise.
That is the very heart
of Christianity.
Note that it doesn't merely say
the Son of Man
will be delivered.
It's not just a prediction.
It says the Son of Man
must be delivered.
What happened to Jesus,
his betrayal,
his sentence,
his execution,
and his resurrection,
they were all necessary.
And this is the way Luke
describes what God
has sovereignly foreordained.
It was God's sovereign plan
that these things happened.
Why?
Because Jesus needed to die.
As Romans 6.23 teaches us,
the wages of sin is death.
And therefore,
as Hebrews 9.22 says,
without the shedding of blood,
there is no forgiveness of sins.
Shedding of blood represents
the pouring out of Jesus' life.
It symbolizes death.
In order to deliver sinners from death,
Jesus had to be delivered
into the hands of sinful men
and die.
In order to secure
our forgiveness of sins,
Jesus had to pay the penalty for sins,
which is death.
Jesus also needed to be crucified.
Or as different parts of the Bible describe it,
hanged on a tree.
As I mentioned on Good Friday,
Deuteronomy 21.23 taught
that those who are hanged on a tree
are cursed by God.
And that's precisely the language
that Luke uses in Luke 23.39,
in Acts 5.30,
in Acts 10.39,
to describe Jesus' crucifixion.
He was killed
by being hanged
on a tree.
Jesus had to die that way
because he had to
bear the curse of sin
as our substitute.
As Galatians 3.13 says,
Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us.
That's the injustice of the cross.
The blessed one,
the holy one,
becomes the accursed one
for our sake.
2 Corinthians 5.21,
for our sake,
God made him to be sin
who knew no sin
so that in him
we might become
the righteousness of God.
Again,
the injustice of the cross.
That he who knew no sin
carries all of our sins
and pays the penalty
for all the sins
of his people.
But Jesus' death alone
isn't sufficient
for our atonement.
Paul corrects that
misbelief
in 1 Corinthians 15.17
where he writes,
and if Christ
has not been raised,
your faith
is futile
and you are still
in your sins.
The death
of Christ
and the resurrection
of Christ
are inseparable.
Christ was delivered
up for our trespasses
and raised
for our justification.
It says in Romans 4.25,
if we were,
while we were enemies,
reconciled to God
by the death
of his son,
then how much more
now that we are
reconciled to him
shall we be saved
by his life?
There is no justification
of sinners
without the resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
there is no salvation
in eternal life
apart from the resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
If Christ had not
been raised,
it would mean
that he was swallowed
up by death.
If Jesus had not
been raised,
it would mean
that he was overcome
by the curse of sin.
If Christ has not
been raised,
then it would mean
that he was defeated
by Satan
and that we would
still be in our sins.
but Christ
was raised.
And his resurrection
is proof
that his death
on our behalf
was accepted
by the Father.
You can think of it
this way.
Our sins were like
an insurmountable debt.
We could never hope
to repay.
But our master,
our Lord,
God,
because he is gracious
and because he loves us,
writes a check
to repay all of our debt.
And it seems too good
to be true.
We go to the bank.
We hand over the check.
And it does not bounce.
It clears.
That's like the resurrection.
Jesus dying,
his blood,
his payment
is like the check
being written
and then his,
and the check
actually clearing.
That's like the resurrection.
It's the proof,
the receipt
that the payment
for our sins
has been received.
Brothers and sisters
in Christ,
do you live
as if your debt
really has been paid
in full?
Or do you still live
in fear
as if the loan sharks
will come by any day now
just knocking on your door?
To drag you to jail.
We cannot repay God
and we don't need to
because it's the gift
that God has given to us
in Jesus Christ.
It's also necessary
that this resurrection
happens on the third day.
I can't get,
don't have the time
to get into all of that,
but there are many,
over 30,
references in scripture
where God delivers his people
on the third day.
It's following that pattern.
There's an expectation
that God would deliver
on the third day.
And this third day
after Jesus' death
also happens to be
the first day of the week,
Sunday,
like today,
as it says in verse 1.
And this is no coincidence either.
Every one of the four gospels,
as Luke does here,
notes that Jesus
was raised from the dead
on the first day
of the week.
The first day
conveys a note of hope
and renewal,
just like people
have all these hopes
and resolutions
for the new year.
And this is why
the early Christians,
though they were mostly Jews
who faithfully worshipped
and observed the Sabbath,
which is on Saturday,
after Jesus' resurrection,
they began to worship
on what they call
the Lord's Day,
which is Sunday.
Jesus is not only
raised from the dead
on the first day
of the week,
but also at early dawn,
it says in verse 1.
The time reference
early dawn
is also not extraneous.
It's not irrelevant
because dawn
is also frequently
associated in Scripture
with God's help
and deliverance.
When the Israelites
are crossing
the Red Sea,
it says in Exodus 14, 27,
that the Lord got
through the Egyptian
forces into a panic
and then a pillar of fire
and cloud descended
upon them
and caused the Red Sea
to return to its normal course
to engulf the Egyptians.
And it says that
that happened
when the morning appeared
or when the morning dawned.
That phrase is taken up
then in Psalm 46,
where it says that
God is our refuge
and strength,
a very present help
in trouble.
God will help her,
talking about the people of God,
when morning dawns.
Throughout the Gospel of Luke,
Luke makes this repeated use
of this light,
darkness motif.
When Jesus is born,
Zachariah, his uncle,
or just before he's born,
Zachariah prophesies
in Luke 1, 78 to 79,
that because of the tender
mercy of our God,
the sunrise shall visit us
from on high
to give light to those
who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death
to guide our feet
into the way of peace.
In contrast,
just when Jesus is being delivered
into the hands of sinful men,
Jesus says in Luke 22, 53,
when I was with you
day after day in the temple,
you did not lay hands on me,
but this is your hour
and the power of darkness.
And as we saw on Good Friday
after Jesus dies on the cross,
it says in Luke 23, 44 to 45,
that there was darkness
over the whole land
and that the sun's light failed.
This is not a solar eclipse.
Some of you guys
are probably planning
on going to visit
to see the totality,
the solar eclipse coming up,
I think it's next week.
And if you've been planning it,
then you know
solar eclipses last
like three minutes.
Doesn't last three hours
like it does
in the gospel accounts.
And it also happens
during new moon.
Doesn't happen during full moon,
which would be
what this would have been
when Jews celebrated
the Passover
and following that.
It's as if the sun itself
recognizes the death
of the one by whom
it was created
and cloaks itself
in darkness.
And so Jesus' birth
is associated
with the sunrise
and his death
is associated
with darkness
and his resurrection
is once again
associated with
the sunrise at dawn.
Linguists debate
the origin of the name
Easter,
but the most plausible theory
is that it comes
from an old
high German word,
Easterum,
which comes then
from a Latin word
that means dawn.
In many ancient languages
like Hebrew,
Aramaic,
Syriac,
and Arabic,
the word east
either means
or is related to the word
that means sunrise
because the sun rises
from the east.
And that's an apt representation
of the resurrection
because at the end
of each day,
at night,
when the sun sets,
it seems like
a sword of death
but in the morning
it rises again.
And that's why
Easter is a fitting
alternate name
for resurrection Sunday.
And there's hope
for us in this
that no matter
how long and hard
your week might be,
the first day
of the week
always comes around.
No matter how dark
your night might be,
sun always rises
at dawn.
That's the hope
that the resurrection
of Jesus offers
his people
because his resurrection
guarantees
our future deliverance
and bodily resurrection.
Our God
raises the dead
and that means
there is no situation
in life
that is so bleak
as to be without hope.
when your chronic illness
is crippling,
when the pain
and hardship
of your work
is overwhelming,
when you feel crushed
by grief,
sorrow,
and loneliness,
when your dream
seems dead
and buried.
Remember the hope
of the resurrection.
even though
in this life
we are grieved
by various trials,
we have a hope
that no trial
in life
can extinguish
because,
as it says,
as we read
in the assurance
of pardon
this morning
from 1 Peter 1,
we have been born again
to a living hope
through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ
from the dead
to an inheritance
that is imperishable,
undefiled,
and unfading,
kept in heaven
for us
who,
by God's power,
are being guarded
through faith
for salvation
to be revealed
in the last time.
Similarly,
in 2 Corinthians 1,
8-9,
Paul and Timothy
write about
how much they were
suffering
and how they were
afflicted
and how they were
so utterly burdened
beyond their strength
that they despaired
of life itself.
They felt that
they had received
the sentence of death,
they say.
That's about as low
you can get in life
to despair of life itself,
to feel like
you've received
the death sentence
which seems so final
and irreversible.
But,
they continue,
that was to make them
rely not on themselves
but on God
who raises the dead.
Even when you're
despairing of life itself,
if you're counting
on the God
who raises the dead,
then you are not
without hope.
Many of you
have already put your faith
in Jesus Christ
for salvation.
And if that's you,
it is your responsibility
to remember
this truth.
The word remember
is repeated twice
in this passage
and the command
to remember
is an important word
throughout the scriptures.
The verb remember
by itself
occurs 222 times
throughout the Old Testament
and that's not counting
different forms
of that word.
Remembrance,
memorial,
these other words.
In the Bible,
remembering
the redemptive acts
of God
in order to freshly
apply those truths
to our lives
is a central act
of Christian worship.
We cannot rightly
worship God
if we don't rightly
remember
what he has done
for us.
That's why
in Luke 22,
19,
when Jesus instituted
the Lord's Supper,
he says,
this is my body
which is given
for you.
Do this
in remembrance
of me?
Easter
and really
every Sunday
when we gather
to worship
every first day
of the week
is a day
of remembering
because we are
a forgetful people.
Do you remember
the resurrection
of Jesus
as you wrestle
with your own sins,
your setbacks
in life,
your sorrows
and the sufferings
of your life?
weeping may tarry
for the night
but joy comes
with the morning.
This is Psalm 35,
30 verse 5.
When you see
the sunrise each morning,
remember the resurrection
of Jesus
and those who remember
the resurrection
of Jesus
must tell
of the resurrection
of Jesus also.
There's a transmission
of the testimony
from first the angels
to the woman
and then from the woman
to the apostles
in verse 9.
It says in verse 9
that they told
all these things
to the eleven
and to all the rest.
And then later
we see that transmission
happening again
in verse 14
when the two of the disciples
start talking
amongst themselves
about all these things
that they had heard.
Christians
are by definition
witnesses
of Jesus Christ.
we bear witness
to his death
and resurrection
and transmission
therefore is essential
because unless
we tell
of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ
no one will hear
and believe
the news.
Notice how
Luke emphasizes this
in this text.
It's not when the women
see the empty tomb
that they believe.
It's when they are told
by the angel
to remember
what Jesus told you.
That's when they believe.
this is consistent
with Luke 11 29 to 32
where Jesus says
that no sign
will be given
to this generation
except for the sign
of Jonah.
There are multiple ways
that the gospel writers
apply that sign of Jonah.
Matthew used the sign
of Jonah
to refer to the fact
that Jonah was
in the belly
of the great fish
for three days
which is like a death
and then he came out
and they said
that that foreshadows
that story foreshadows
or parallels
Jesus being buried
in his tomb
for three days
and then being raised
from the dead.
But that's not the way
Luke mentions
the sign of Jonah.
The sign of Jonah
that Luke mentions
in Luke 11
is not the fish part
but the fact
that Jonah came out
and then preached
to the people
of Nineveh.
It's Jonah's preaching
that's the sign
that people of Nineveh
saw or heard
and came to faith in.
And likewise
then the parallel here
is that the sign
that Jesus says
this is the only sign
I will give
to this generation
because no one's
going to see
Jesus' empty tomb.
No one's going to see
the risen Jesus
in the flesh anymore.
The sign that is given
to this generation
is not to see
but to hear
from the people of God
that Jesus
is raised
from the dead.
As Romans 10
14, 17
says
how then
will they call on him
whom they not believed?
How can they believe
in someone
whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear
unless someone
preaches to them?
And how can they preach
unless they are sent?
So faith
comes from hearing
not from seeing
and hearing
through the word of Christ.
Saving faith
comes by hearing
the word of Christ
and that means
brothers and sisters
we must tell
of Jesus.
It's as simple as that.
If you feel
that you are not
qualified
to tell people
about Jesus
and his resurrection
then I want
to ask you
to consider
who Jesus'
first witnesses are.
It says in verse 10
Now it was Mary Magdalene
and Joanna
and Mary
the mother of James
and the other woman
with them
who told these things
to the apostles.
All of the gospels
record
that the first report
of the resurrection
was by these women.
And this is a remarkable fact
considering the status
of women
in the ancient world.
To illustrate
the first century
Jewish historian
Josephus
writes in his book
Against Apian
but let not
the testimony
of women
be admitted
on account
of the levity
and boldness
of their sex
since it is probable
that they may not
speak truth
either out of hope
of gain
or fear of punishment.
Similarly
the Talmud
which is the compilation
of Jewish rabbinical
oral traditions
and commentary
stipulates
that women
may not be
a valid witness
in legal
Jewish proceedings
Jewish legal proceedings.
In fact
this was exactly
what Christians
of the early age
were mocked about
in the second century
Greek philosopher
Kelsus
mocks Christians
on precisely this point
arguing that
our doctrine
of the resurrection
of Jesus
is based on the testimony
of quote
half frantic
self deceived woman
but the Bible
betrays
no such prejudice
despite the fact
that it would have
been a point
of embarrassment
in their culture
in their cultural context
that the first witnesses
of Christ's resurrection
were women
none of the gospel writers
try to hide this fact
or minimize
this reality
and I think
this is
a corroborating evidence
of the authenticity
of these resurrection accounts
and of the integrity
of the authors
who wrote them
it also shows
that both men
and women
can be witnesses
of Jesus Christ
I mean think about it
it's not like
the 11 apostles
remaining
are all that better
they're just
a bunch of fishermen
God is no respecter
of persons
and he is not
looking for
expert witnesses
he's looking for
true
and faithful witnesses
you don't have
to be a pastor
with formal theological
training
to share the good news
of Jesus Christ
with your neighbors
you just need
to believe
in Jesus Christ
and that brings me
to my final point
we must believe
the resurrection
some of you here
are not yet
followers of Christ
and you must first
believe
in the resurrection
before you can remember
and tell of the resurrection
of Christ
in verses 11 to 12
we see that the words
of the woman
seem to be
seem to the apostles
an idle tale
and they did not
believe them
but Peter rose
and ran to the tomb
stooping in
looking in
he saw the linen cloths
by themselves
and he went home
marveling at what
had happened
here we see
two contrasting responses
to the witness
of Jesus' resurrection
most of the apostles
do not believe
at first
it was hard for people
to believe the resurrection
back then too
but Peter
marvels at what
had happened
the word
translated idle tale
is a Greek word
that's usually
to describe
the delirious talk
of people
who are sick
delirium
delusion
nonsense
people's skepticism
toward the resurrection
of Christ
is nothing new
to this day
many treat our faith
in the resurrected Christ
as a delusion
a delirium
but the resurrection
is no idle tale
you can see
in today's passage
that Jesus' disciples
both men and women
were not expecting
the resurrection
they are surprised
the resurrection
was not some conspiracy
that they were all in on
prior
to the fact
it was rather
an unexpected event
a surprising reality
that they had to
reckon with
and make sense of
what do you make
of the empty tomb
what do you make
of all those disciples
who lived
and died
proclaiming
that they saw
the risen Jesus
according to
third century
pastor and theologian
origin
and church historian
Eusebius
all
of the
all of the
twelve apostles
except for
apostle John
were killed
for bearing
witness to Jesus
Peter
bore witness
to Jesus
from Jerusalem
all the way
to modern day
Turkey
and then
he was crucified
by Emperor Nero
after bearing
witness
in Rome
James
bore witness
to Christ
throughout Judea
and was killed
by King
Herod Agrippa
the first
John
was the only
one that made
it to old age
but he died
in exile
in Patmos
it's possible
he did come back
from exile
but that's where
you spend
the waning years
of his life
Andrew
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
modern day
Ukraine
southern Russia
and Kazakhstan
and then was
crucified
in Patras
Greece
Bartholomew
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
modern day
India
and Armenia
where he was
then flayed
to death
for his faith
James
the son
of Alphaeus
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
Egypt
where he was
crucified
for his
faith
Judas
the son
of James
also known
as Jude
or Thetius
bore witness
to Jesus
in Iran
in Syria
and Lebanon
where he was
beheaded
for his
faith
Matthew
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
modern day
Sudan
and church
tradition
holds
that he too
was martyred
Philip
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
modern day
Greece
Syria
and Turkey
where he was
beheaded
for his
faith
Simon
the zealot
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
Mauritania
Libya
and Britain
where he was
crucified
Thomas
bore witness
to Jesus
as far as
India
where he too
was martyred
Matthias
the last
apostle
to be
added
to replace
Judas
the Iscariot
who betrayed
Jesus
bore witness
in modern day
Azerbaijan
and Armenia
and Georgia
and he was
stoned to death
and I dare say
that there are
many in this
room right now
who would gladly
give their lives
for Jesus
do you really
think that they
all died
to keep a lie
Christ
really did
conquer death
he was raised
from the dead
and that's why
Luke calls him
the Lord
Jesus
in verse
three
Jesus
has been
called
Lord
before
but
by itself
sometimes
it can
just mean
something
as simple
as sir
but when
you
combine
the title
Lord
with the
name
Jesus
and becomes
the Lord
Jesus
this is
the only
time
he's called
the Lord
Jesus
is after
the resurrection
here in
Luke
only happens
once in the
gospel of Luke
but in the
sequel in the
book of Acts
Jesus
is called
the Lord
Jesus
18 times
because it's
only after
the resurrection
that we see
Jesus as
the exalted
Lord
that we saw
only a glimpse
of during his
transfiguration
he is the
Lord Jesus
who demands
our submission
who deserves
our allegiance
who is
worthy
of our
worship
Jesus
is Lord
and Lord
over all
he reigns
over all
creation
his name
is exalted
above
every
other name
and Romans
10 9
promises
all of us
and I want
to implore
you if you
have not yet
put your
faith in
Jesus Christ
it says
if you
confess
with your
mouth
that Jesus
is Lord
and believe
in your
heart
that he
raised
Jesus
from the
dead
that God
raised
Jesus
from the
dead
that you
will be
saved
if that's
not amazing
to you
then you
do not
quite
understand
what I'm
saying
to you
do you
realize
what God
is offering
you
free
gift
of salvation
eternal
life
freedom
from the
bondage
of sin
and death
forgiveness
reconciliation
with God
we're offering
that to you
right now
and all
you need
to do
confess
outwardly
the name
of Jesus
and believe
inwardly
that God
raised him
from the
dead
let's
pray
father we
ask that
you would
please
anyone here
who does
not yet
know you
and does
not yet
belong to
you
but they
are yours
you have
chosen
them
won't you
now
father
call
them
by name
won't you
father
now speak
into their
heart
won't you
father
now give
them the
gift of
faith
that they
might be
born again
to a
living hope
of the
resurrection
and lord
please
comfort
my brothers
and sisters
in christ
who already
know you
their lives
are full
of
disappointments
discouragements
struggle
with sin
but lord
remind them
this morning
and comfort
them of
that hope
that we
have
in the
resurrection
in jesus name
we pray
amen