“THE TOMB IS EMPTY - WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT!”
Luke 24:1-12
There are several non-negotiable, line - in - the - sand claims that Christianity makes.
Here are a few...
-God is the Holy and Just Creator of the world
-The Bible is His Holy, Inspired Word given to us so that we could know Him more and is the only book we need to live our lives by.
-There is an eternity with two possible destinations and everyone who has ever lived will spend forever in one of those two places.
-Jesus is God who came in the flesh as man and lived a sinless life.
-He died on a Roman cross to pay the penalty for our sin, was buried in a tomb and rose again on the third day thereby defeating death and proving once and for all that He is Lord of all.
If any are not true then our faith is foolish, our doctrine is deception, and our eternity is endangered. But if they are true, that makes anyone who denies them a heretic, false teacher, and a non-Christian. So which is it? Today we will focus on the last of the non-negotiables I mentioned. The fact that Jesus was crucified for our sins and rose back to life three days later. My hope today is not that you leave merely convinced of what is true but that you would also respond appropriately to that truth.
Last week we noticed in John’s Gospel that Jesus was officially and indisputably declared dead on the cross, we studied how Jospeh and Nicodemus publicly declared their allegiance for Jesus by claiming the body and burying him in a tomb that Joseph himself purchased and donated. That is where we pick up our story...
Jesus was hurriedly buried on Friday because the Saturday Sabbath was coming. Sensing an inadequate preparation for the dead body, a group of ladies head out to the tomb on Sunday morning now that the Sabbath has passed. The emotional state of these women is fragile. They are grieving, they are fearful, and they are uncertain as to how they will get in the tomb to do this job.
They show up, the stone is moved, Luke records no guards - perhaps they had abandoned post by now, and most importantly they go in and there is no Jesus.
There was / is no dispute. The tomb was empty. The clothes were there, the body was not. The only questions at stake are where is Jesus and how will people respond to an empty tomb. Consider several responses this morning...
I. CONFUSION (vs. 4a)
“greatly perplexed” - puzzled - it means you have a problem and can’t figure it out. In fact you look at the situation and don’t see any solution or explanation for it. Nothing about this situation made sense for the women. “He’s dead, He should be right here. What happened? There must be some logical explanation but I sure don’t know what it is.”
There is no reason for anybody to ever be perplexed or puzzled about Jesus Christ.
We know who He is:
John 14:9,11 - “...He who has seen Me has seen the Father...believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.”
We know what His mission was:
Matt. 20:28 - “...the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.”
The only reason anyone ever has to be confused about Jesus is because of a lack of faith. The person who won’t believe in the claims of Christ or the occurance of his death, burial and resurrection ignores overwhelming, indisputable evidence. The person who won’t believe that a God would save them after all the sins they’ve committed ignores the overwhelming, indisputable love of God. The person who thinks he doesn’t need Jesus ignores the overwhelming, indisputable mess that he’s made of his life on his own. At some point you must believe on Jesus and put your trust in Him alone.
A good reason to do that comes from the second response we note:
II. PROPHETIC (vs. 5-8)
Angels appear inside the tomb...
1. The Ladies displayed Reverence (5a)
“bowed”- they recognized they were in the presence of heavenly beings. God was speaking to them through these angelic messengers.
2. The Ladies were Rebuked (5b)
He’s alive, but you’re acting like He’s dead and gone. Too many Christians and churches act like we worship a dead Savior. We walk around all mopey popey, we come to church if we feel like it, and then we moan over the hopelessness of the world and our lives. I’ve been to some funeral home visitations that had more life and liveliness to them than most churches. You go to a funeral home to mourn a person who is dead and not coming back but when you come to chruch you are coming to worship somebody who stared death in the face and said is that all you got! And here’s the thing...today is Easter so we are natually a little more jubilant but next week Jesus will be just as alive as He is today! And the resurrection power we fawn over today will be the same power that is available to us next week, and the week after that.
Things in your life may not be good today but your Savior sure is. He is alive, He is powerful, He is working in you and around you, so lift your head up to Him and if you can’t then let Him lift it for you and trust Him that He is going to see you through the tough times. Christians, don’t you act like your God is dead.
3. The Ladies Remembered (6-8)
The events of this day should not suprise us. Jesus himself predicted or prophecied 3X this would happen.
“must be delivered” - given over. The Jewish leadership wanted Him gone, the Roman leadership was indifferent, and ultimately it was because of all of us that He died. The “sinful people” says it all. Jesus told us He was giving Himself up for us to take our place.
“be crucified” - the beatings, mockings, the nails, the cross all of that was to carry out the physical sacrifice that must be made but the greatest and most horrific occurance on the cross was the spiritual aspect of it where God treated His own Son like a vile sinner and poured out His wrath on Him though He had done nothing wrong. Jesus told us that He must die in order for us to live.
“the third day rise again” - He made it clear...kill me and bury me but in three days I’ll be back. Jesus told us He would not be defeated.
Illst- one of the great legends in our country is Babe Ruth’s called shot...That is disputed but there is no disputing Jesus and "the shot" He called.
III. DISBELIEF (vs. 9-11)
“idle tales” - (leros) - medical language to describe delirium. Not only did the disciples not believe them but they thought the women had lost their minds.
They wanted nothing to do with the thought that Jesus somehow came back to life. This is reflective of some people today who aren’t really looking for God to intervene in their life. They don’t care to believe what He’s done for them. They think we Christians are silly or crazy for believing what we do. But one day the world will care to believe on Him.
John 12:47-50 - “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
IV. AMAZEMENT (vs. 12)
“But Peter” - there has always been something unique about Peter hasn’t it? No one could show more spiritual insight and wisdom one moment and then turn into a complete dunderhead the next faster than Peter.
He is the first of the disciples to enter the tomb and see the body-less clothes for himself.
“marveled” - amazement with a suggestion of beginning to speculate on the matter. This wasn’t a statement of faith but he was certainly considering it. While others refused to believe, Peter isn’t so certain. He has learned that Jesus can be shocking and surprising but also He was always right. For Peter this is a moment of reflection, decision, and faith.
Is the resurrection the only adequate explanation for what Peter sees? Isn’t the resurrection what Jesus promised? Could He really be alive? Did God’s plan for redemption really come to pass before my eyes?
That’s where we leave the story this morning. You know the rest of it. Now we move away from Peter and turn to ourselves. The questions he wrestled with are the ones we must wrestle with. What do you think about this story?
Paul tells us how we need to respond to it...
Romans 10:9 - “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:11 - “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 10:13 - “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment