OPEN 166 RR 735 RESURRECTION CLOSE 526 One of the phenomenal stories of the last year or so is the story of the making and distribution of the movie, "The Passion." I have not seen it, but have read many reviews and spoken to people who have watched it. From all accounts it is a gripping, visceral emotional experience that is not easy to forget. The movie focuses on the last few hours of the life of Christ and the horrors that he had to endure. Minute by minute and mile by mile it traces the agony, torture, hypocrisy and pathos of the whole event. Jesus, the Christ, becoming the sacrifice, the one paying the penalty for my sins. As you go into many churches, you will find a representation of Jesus on the cross on the wall somewhere. Crosses adorn churches of many faiths. The cross is a symbol that is seen in jewelry, and tattooed on flesh. It appears on Bibles, and in homes. For most of the year the cross is the predominate Christian symbol. Yet the cross alone is a tale of disaster and defeat. The real story comes 3 days later. Resurrection And with resurrection, came the birth of the church, the promise of hope, and the desire to tell the story. And to such an extent that the believer would say to another that he passed on the street or visited in the home or synagogue, "Christ the Lord is risen." To which the other would respond, "He is risen indeed." Have you ever tried to contemplate what would happen if there had been no resurrection, or if the resurrection were a fraud? Paul contemplates this in great detail. 1 Cor 15:1 "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, {2} by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. Notice in these 2 verses 2 main thoughts. The gospel is what saves us. We must believe and hold fast to the gospel. {3} For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, {4} and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, {5} and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. {6} After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. {7} After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. {8} Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. {9} For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. After giving us some background, Paul gets into the theology of the resurrection. {12} Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? {13} But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. {14} And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. {15} Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up; if in fact the dead do not rise. {16} For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. {17} And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! {18} Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. {19} If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. Here Paul rests everything that we believe, everything that we hope for, on the resurrection of Christ. How vital it it? The originator of a new religion came to the great French diplomat- statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord and complained that he could not make any converts. "What would you suggest I do?" he asked. "I should recommend," said Talleyrand, "that you get yourself crucified, and then die, but be sure to rise again the third day." Christianity stands on the resurrection. Paul is clear on this. So were the other disciples. 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Peter. The apostle who for a time lost hope. He believed that his sins were too great to be a disciple anymore. Peter writes that the abundant of Jesus gives us not just hope, but living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead......................... 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Notice what was making the difference. See what the priests and rulers were trying to prevent. They were trying to prevent the proclamation that Jesus is alive. What else could have fueled the church? If Jesus had not risen, the disciples would have met a few more times in fear then disbanded. Instead, they stood in the temple proclaiming the resurrection Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. The belief in the resurrection gives the follower of Christ the power to stand for right no matter what happens. You can kill the body, but the resurrection trumps all else. Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, The death/resurrection theme is so important that it is the entry way for the believer into the faith. Symbolically, the believer dies the death to self that Jesus died, and is resurrected to a new life in a new family. Let me ask you today, what belief do you hold that has any value without the resurrection? Take the crucifixion. If Jesus died for our sins, but was not resurrected as the firstfruits of humanity what would we have? Forgiveness, followed by death and nothingness. So without the resurrection, His death has little meaning. Look at the doctrine of heaven. If there is no resurrection, we will never make it to heaven. Look at virtually any aspect of our faith. Without the resurrection of Christ, the meaning fades or disappears. What do you have to say to the Hindu, the Moslem, the pagan, or the agnostic if you do not talk of the resurrection? It is said that Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, and others were prophets, or holy men. But of not one is it said that they came back from the dead. Buddha is revered by his statues. Confucius is remembered by his sayings. Mohammed is remembered by his writings. Others were known for their care for society or humanity. But only Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed. He needs no gold plated effigies. He needs no black shrouded tomb. He needs no statues to his memory. He is alive. He is risen indeed. The symbol of Christianity is not a magnificent tomb. It is a dusty, empty, vacant, unoccupied, hollow, deserted, void, forsaken, uninhabited, abandoned, vacated, emptied, untenanted, open, unfilled, (did I say vacant?) and barren tomb. No one is in it. No dust of flesh and bone. No sepulcher with a name carved in it. The symbol of Christianity is the hope that burns in the heart of the believer in the death and resurrection of Christ. A resurrection that predicts the resurrection of the believer. A resurrection that assures us that the believer, because of the resurrection of Jesus can claim eternal life. What do you say? In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her. On the marker were inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time, a seed, covered over by the stones, began to grow. Slowly it pushed its way through the soil and out from beneath them. As the trunk enlarged, the great slabs were gradually shifted so that the steel clasps were wrenched from their sockets. A tiny seed had become a tree that had pushed aside the stones. The dynamic life force contained in that little seed is a faint reflection of the tremendous power of God's creative word that someday will call to life the bodies of all who are in their graves. He will also bring back every person drowned at sea, cremated, or destroyed in some other way. This is no problem to the One who made something out of nothing when He spoke the universe into existence. Unbelief cannot deter the resurrection. But faith in the risen Christ opens the door to blessings that His resurrection guarantees -- a glorious new spiritual body and a home in heaven. In new bodies we will be reunited with saved loved ones to live with Jesus throughout all eternity. What does the resurrection mean to the Christian? 1 Corinthians 15:51} Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; {52} in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. {53} For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. {54} So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." {55} "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" {56} The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. {57} But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. {58} Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. Belief in the resurrection of Christ is the basis of our resurrection. When the women came to Jesus' tomb on resurrection morning, they found the tomb empty. They found instead an angel at the entrance to the tomb. Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb...... 5 But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." That is the news that we are encouraged to carry. Go and tell of the resurrection. Explain the implications. Show that because of Jesus, we too have hope. We have a perfect world to look forward to. We have unwavering promises that we can claim. We have everything that is needed for eternity through the resurrection. Christ the Lord is risen. He is risen indeed