Rejoice

Reid Tait

Midland SDA Church

March 30, 2013

Opening Song No. 1 “Praise to the Lord”

Closing Songs No. 251 and 526

Scripture 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Title of the sermon is taken from Matthew 28:9 where are presented Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (probably the mother of James).

Turn in your Hymnals to # 734 and let’s read responsively

CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS AND DEATH--II

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.  They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?”  Pilate asked.  They all answered, “Crucify him!”  “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

Then he released Barabbas to them.  But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.  Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.

They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then wove a crown of thorns and set it on his head.  They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him.  “Hail, King of the Jews!” they said.

They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.  After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him away to crucify him.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”         From Matthew 27, NIV

It is Finished—O Death where it thy sting:  O Grave where is thy victory?  Found in John 19:30 and 1 Corinthians 15:55

The Finish on this earth started in a small insignificant town Bethlehem of Judea.

“At last Jesus was at rest.  The long day of shame and torture was ended.  As the last rays of the setting sun ushered in the Sabbath, the Son of God lay in quietude in Joseph’s tomb.  His work completed, His hands folded in peace, He rested through the sacred hours of the Sabbath day.” P. 769 The Desire of Ages.

Turn to Matthew 28:1-6

            An earthquake marked the hour when Christ laid down His life, and another earthquake witnessed the moment when He took it up in triumph.  When He comes again He will shake both heaven and earth.

“At the sight of the angels and the glorified Savior the Roman guard had fainted and become as dead men.  When the heavenly train was hidden from their view, they (the guards) arose to their feet, and as quickly as their trembling limbs could carry them, made their way to the gate of the garden.  Staggering like drunken men, they hurried on to the city, telling those whom they met the wonderful news.” DA p. 781 E. G. White

“The resurrections of Jesus and of Lazarus also give us confidence that the persons resurrected at the end of the world will be the same persons who previously lived and died.  The neural connections in the brain are destroyed by death, but God doesn’t forget them.  Jesus’ disciples recognized Him after His resurrection (John 21:12) Lazarus’s friends recognized him after his resurrection and those who know us will recognize us after our resurrection (Job 19:25-27; 1 Corinthians 13:12).

David Marshall in his Signs of the Times article titled “Proof of the Resurrection” p. 8, April 2004 writes   “The entire case for Christianity rests on the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  Without it, Christianity would have been stillborn, for a living faith cannot outlive a dead Savior.”

1 Corinthians 15:12-26—Christ is risen from the dead verse 20.

“The bodily resurrection of Jesus was a real even in history.  The risen Lord was seen by hundreds of people (John 20:26-28; 1 Corinthians 15:6).  It was the reality of the Resurrection that gave power and boldness to the apostles (Acts 2:22-36).  Jesus was a real human, with a real body, who really died and was resurrected bodily.  More than any other single fact of history, it is the reality of the Resurrection that Gives life to the Christian religion.” P. 114, Origins, L. James Gibson, Pacific Press Publishing Association. 2012

Marshall In his argument for the resurrection list C. S. Lewis as a doubter who became a Christian after resisting its influence for several years but historical reliability of the Gospels influenced the change.

1. The stone and the guard

a. Stone weighing about 2 tons was rolled in front of the tomb.  Mark 16:3 & 4. Then it was sealed with a Roman seal, and a 16 man Roman guard was posted to keep the disciples from stealing Jesus; body.

b. After the Resurrection, the guards claimed that Jesus’ disciples had stolen Jesus’ body while they slept, but the facts speak strongly against this conclusion.  The disciples were not going to take on highly trained Roman Soldiers.  In fact John writes in John 20:19 “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst,  and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 

c. The idea that Jesus’ disciples could have rolled a two-ton stone up even a slight incline far enough to open Jesus’ tomb without waking even one of the soldiers is unbelievable not including the earthquake.

d. The guard reported to Pilot what had happened.  They did not lie for fear of their lives.  They did not sleep—how could they with an angel of light standing before them.

2. The Jewish Leaders.

a. After Jesus rose from the dead, those same Jewish leaders bribed the soldiers to spread the story that the disciples did steal His body while the guards slept!  Had Pilate truly believed this report, he would immediately have ordered the soldiers’ execution.  The Jewish leaders would have demanded that Pilate have each of them executed.  The fact that the soldiers were allowed to live is ample testimony that their report was false.

b. If the Jewish leaders had truly believed that the disciples stole Jesus’ body, they would have apprehended all eleven of them and forced them to reveal where they had hidden the body and paraded Jesus’ corpse around Jerusalem for everyone to see.

3. The empty tomb

a. One of the undisputed details of the resurrection is that the tomb was indeed empty.  The first indicator is the Jewish authorities did not organize a search party, they believed the soldiers who had guarded the tomb.  Instead of refuting the claims, they rejected them.

b. Eye witness were still living that could attest to the empty tomb and seeing Jesus in person.

4. The eyewitnesses

a. Those who claimed to have seen Jesus after His resurrection were first Mary Magdalene, the ten disciples and a week later to all eleven  He finally appeared to more than 500 believers

b. There were 12 different appearances of Christ to others including the apostle Paul.

5. The evidence encourages complete faith in the truth of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  And since that amazing New Testament clam is true, then so is its claim that Christ conquered death for you and me and that He is coming again to give us immortality .  Faith in the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection is the key to receiving all the benefits and promises of God.

6. Let there be no doubt in your mind.  We serve a risen savior who lives today and sits on the right hand of God.  Will you love Him and serve him.  Stand with me as I pray for each of us to stand until we can sing his praises face to face.