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Luke 24:1-7 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Luke 24:1-7 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”
Why is Easter so important? • The Crowning Proof of Who Christ Is • If the Resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion • If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth • The Greatest Victory in History! • There have been many victories in God’s dealings with men • But the GREATEST triumph of them all was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! • Jesus conquered the three greatest enemies of mankind: SIN, SATAN and DEATH • Jesus Christ won the victory by His resurrection!
Man’s Greatest Enemy • Death Hebrews 2:14-15 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage
Death - Man’s Greatest Enemy • Death has conquered all men but Christ • No matter how brilliant or rich or strong • No man is wise enough to outwit death • No man is wealthy enough to purchase freedom from death • No man is strong enough to vanquish death • The grave always wins and man returns to the dust • The triumph of death applies to all things • Animals die and plants die • Cities and nations are born and grow and then fade away • Homes and automobiles and clothes wear out and eventually go back to the dust • The universe itself is running down and heading toward an ultimate “energy death”
The Bondage of Corruption • Romans 8:21 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God • The Second Law of Thermodynamics • A universal law in science • No known exception ever observed • Every system tends to become disordered, to run down and eventually die • The Law of Increasing Entropy • Entropy, a measure of disorder, always tends to increase
The Uniqueness of Christ • All other men have died • Buddha, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Confucius, Caesar, Marx • But Jesus Christ is alive! • It is true that He died and was buried, but unlike other men He resurrected His own dead body • He emerged from the tomb, alive forevermore! • The greatest of all miracles • Proves that Jesus is indeed God, just as He had claimed to be
Man’s Only Hope for Victory • Victory Over Sin • From the garden of Eden, man has been engaged in a battle against sin Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned.”
Victory Over Sin Romans 7:15, 18-19, 24 - “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do....For I know that in me (that is, in my sinful nature) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice....O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” • The answer to Paul’s question: Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin by His resurrection! He and He alone can deliver us! v. 25 “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Victory Over Sin • By His death on the cross and His resurrection, Christ provided a way that our sin can be removed and God can declare us perfectly righteous in Him Romans 4:25 “who was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised for our justification” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Victory Over Sin • It is the power of the resurrection that gives us DAILY victory over sin Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” Ephesians 1:19-20 “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”
Victory Over Satan • Satan – 5000 years trying to destroy God’s plan of salvation! • He caused CAIN to kill righteous Abel - but God gave Seth! • He caused ABRAHAM in unbelief to bear Ishmael - but God miraculously gave Isaac • He caused JOSEPH’s BROTHERS to sell him as a slave to Egypt - but God saved his whole family through Joseph’s faithfulness! • He caused DAVID to sin a sin worthy of death - but God gave him a repentant heart • He caused HEROD to kill all the babies two years old and under - but God directed Joseph to take baby Jesus to Egypt • He caused Judas to betray Christ, leading to the crucifixion of Jesus • There was the triumph Satan had waited for! • 5000 years of diabolical planning had paid off! • For three days Satan and his demons had a victory party!
Victory Over Satan • But early on the third morning, Christ rose from the dead, and Satan was defeated! 1 Peter 3:21b-22 “...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers have been made subject to Him” 1 John 3:8b “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”
Victory Over Satan • Satan is a defeated enemy - he cannot have control over us, as long as we are controlled by the living Christ! Colossians 2:14-15 “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” 1 John 4:4 “Greater is He that is in you [the living Christ] than he that is in the world [Satan]”
Victory Over Death • Followers of Jesus Christ have no need to fear physical death John 11:25-26 ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”
Victory Over Death • Because of the resurrection, physical death to us is simply an entrance into the presence of the Lord! 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” Philippians 1:21,23 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain....For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better”
Victory Over Death 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 “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.’ O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”
What If? • If all this is somehow a delusion and if Jesus of Nazareth did not really rise from the dead, then He is no different from other great men who are also dead • Worse - either a charlatan or a madman • Jesus staked His claims to absolute deity on His promise to return from the dead
What If? • But, if the Resurrection is really a fact of history, then not only are His claims true, but so are His promises! 1 Peter 1:3 He has “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” 1 Corinthians 15:20, 22 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, ... so also in Christ shall all be made alive”
What If? • Dead in our sins, we have only one hope for new life • Trusting in Jesus Christ and relying on His death and resurrection for our salvation John 14:6 Jesus Christ, the Messiah is “the way, and the truth, and the life” John 11:25 “whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live”
What Happens? • The moment you commit your life to Him, three things happen • Your sin is removed • The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart as your protection against Satan • You have eternal life! John 5:12 “He that has the Son has life...”
What an Exchange! • Our sin for Christ’s righteousness! • Our weakness for Christ’s power! • Our death for Christ’s life!
