Now late on
the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for
an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone,
and sat upon it. His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as
snow: and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men. And
the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye
seek Jesus, who hath been crucified. He
is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the
Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his
disciples, He is risen from the dead; and lo, he goeth before you into Galilee;
there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. - Matthew 28:1-7
Almost all Christians would
agree that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most
significant event in history. The reason
for the significance of Christ's death are fairly obvious. He took upon himself the punishment for our
sins, so that we might be reconciled to God the Father. The significance of Jesus' resurrection,
however, are sometimes not quite so apparent.
That is what I would like to look at today. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead is significant because it is proof of a number of very important things.
1. First and foremost,
Christ's resurrection is our proof that he is who he claims to be, that being
the unique Son of God, God taking on human flesh, the second person of the
Trinity.
Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead - Romans 1:3-4
2. The resurrection is proof that Jesus is the
righteous judge who will judge us all. In Athens, a city which the
Bible describes as being completely given over to idolatry at that particular
point in time, Paul preached these words regarding that idolatry:
And the times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which
he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead. And when they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, we will hear thee again
of this matter. - Acts 17:30-32
I think it’s worth noting
that our country today would likely rival, if not surpass 1st century Athens
for idolatry, and one will also receive the same response to a declaration of
the resurrection; namely mockery from some, but also some who are willing to
hear more. But what this scripture tells
us about the resurrection is that it is proof that judgment is coming, that
Jesus is the Judge, and of the righteousness with which
he will judge. We also see this in 2
Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;
that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad.
3. The resurrection of Jesus is proof of our
justification before God. We find this
in the 3rd verse of chapter 4 of Paul's letter to the Romans: For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness.
And a few verses further on
he adds this:
And therefore [still speaking of faith]
it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised
up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification. - Romans 4:22-25
In other words, the
resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that the payment he made for sins was
accepted by God the Father.
4. The resurrection is also proof of victory
over death.
Now if we
be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion
over him. - Romans 6:8-9
Likewise, if we are in
Christ, then in him we have won the victory over death as we are told in 1
Corinthians 15:54-57 So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. Jesus resurrection is proof that we will also
be resurrected;
If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable. But now is Christ risen from
the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also
the resurrection of the dead. For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. - 1 Corinthians 15:19-23
6. Finally the resurrection of
Jesus provides us with the eager expectation that we have a place reserved for
us in heaven that will last through eternity.
Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you - 1 Peter 1:3-4
Did you catch that? According to his abundant mercy God has
begotten us again, or as some translations put it, caused us to be born again
to a living hope. Do you have that
living hope?
Jesus' resurrection from
the dead is the proof that all these things are true. That you can have an eternal inheritance in
heaven. Proof that if you belong to
Christ you too will be resurrected from the dead. That you can have the victory over
death. Christ's resurrection is proof
that his payment for sinners on the cross was accepted by the Father and
stamped "Paid In Full." But
his resurrection is also proof that Jesus is the Son of God who is the
righteous Judge. And that brings us back
to the death which Christ was raised from.
He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Do you believe that?
For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God. - John 3:16-18
There we have two different
groups of people, and everyone belongs to one of these two groups. Either you are one who believes and has the
promise of an eternal inheritance, or you are one who does not believe and is
condemned. But God, by his grace, has
made it possible for a person to leave the group who are condemned simply by
turning from sin and to Jesus, believing on Him.
And why should you believe?
Because of proof. By his resurrection
from the dead Jesus proved that he is the Son of God and that he is the one who
will judge all men. By his resurrection from
the dead Jesus proved that his followers are justified before God, that he has
won the victory over death, and that they too will be resurrected. We have
certainly been given enough proof. If
you believe, then you already have the victory through Christ. If not, won’t you ask God to give you faith? Won't you submit to his love?
