The Transforming Power of the Resurrection
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
When I come to this account in Luke, Luke's Gospel, this account of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, there are four things that really stand out, that jump right out of the text, that we cannot ignore, we cannot escape. And as we walk through these twelve verses this morning, I want us to keep our eyes on the lookout for these four things by way of introduction, because they permeate these verses. In fact, they run through the entirety of the chapter. And so, four things that will stand out this morning throughout the entire chapter.
The first thing to set the stage for us, that we need to be on the lookout for and keep in mind as we begin to take this portion of the Word of God verse by verse, I want you to recognize with me in these verses that none of the disciples—first of all, none of the disciples—expected the resurrection of Jesus. Not a single disciple expected the resurrection of Jesus. Now, that's important because that says to me that the idea that they would make up a resurrection story, or that they would fake a resurrection, is contrary to every account we have of their thought process, of their words, of their attitudes, of their mindset, directly following the death of Jesus and even directly following the resurrection of Jesus.
We don't find, we don't have here a group of people who so want to believe in a resurrection that they would actually come up with one, that they would create one, that maybe even they would take a set of facts like an empty tomb and then somehow exaggerate it into a resurrection story. That's not what we find here. That's not what we have here at all. We have people who did not expect it, and in fact, as we will see when they first were met with it, they did not believe it. They didn't believe it.
The second thing I want us to notice is our Lord's work in them. I want us to notice our Lord's work in them. I'm talking about the disciples of Jesus, those who truly believed in Jesus in this account. Our Lord's work in them, His commitment to them is greater, and we need to keep that in mind. His work in them and His commitment to them is greater than their own faith or understanding. And I love this. God does not cast them away due to their lack of faith or understanding when it comes to the resurrection. They didn't understand, they didn't initially believe, but our God did not cast them away.
Instead, what does He do? What does He do? He takes the initiative to make sure that they get the resurrection, to make sure that they understand what took place, what has happened, to make sure that they believe in what took place, what occurred. Our God is taking the initiative throughout this entire account. He's taking the initiative to make sure that His people believe in the resurrection. And that tells me that His work in them, His commitment to them is not explained by them, but by Him. By Him. Salvation is the Lord's work. Salvation is the Lord's work. He is the author of it, and He is the finisher of it. He's the perfecter of it. He's the author and the finisher of our faith. So they don't expect it. God makes sure they're going to get it.
The third thing I want us to notice together is that He, God, takes pains to make sure that their faith in the resurrection is tied to the Scripture; old Testament Scripture and the words of His own beloved Son. Throughout this entire account, God is taking great pains to connect their faith in the resurrection with His words. They're going to meet with some astounding experiences, but every time they meet with these experiences, what does God do? And this is really incredible. He ties their faith, not to the experiences, but to His own sure word. Always.
And the fourth thing that I want us to notice is that the disciples must believe in the resurrection. If they are going to follow Christ, they must know and believe that He's not dead, but He's alive. He has been raised from the dead. Bodily raised from the dead. Even this morning as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, I want to remind us we're not celebrating some concept. We're not celebrating some religious idea. The message of Easter is not new beginnings. We're celebrating what is real, historical fact. He was bodily, physically raised from the dead.
Jesus of Nazareth died and three days after they placed Him in a borrowed tomb, He came out of that tomb alive, physically, bodily, victoriously, triumphantly. It is a fact and God wanted His people to know that. And in fact, if they're going to be followers of Jesus, committed followers of Jesus, they had to know it, they had to believe it, they had to embrace it. That Jesus was raised from the dead bodily and never to die again.
So they don't get it. God makes sure that they are going to get it. God takes the initiative. He ties their faith in the resurrection to His word and they must get it. They must believe it. Now, those four observations that we see throughout, really, these verses and throughout the chapter have lasting meaning for every believer in this place. Lasting meaning for every single believer in this place. It reminds us that God's work in us is not explained by us, beloved. It's not, but by Him. And God's work in us is greater and more certain than our expectations, than our faith, than our understanding, than our maturity.
Aren't you grateful that God doesn't cast you away when your faith is weak? Aren't you? When your understanding is limited, He doesn't cast you away? When your expectations are far too low based on God's promises, aren't you glad that He doesn't cast you away? That He doesn't let go of you, believer, but His work in you is certain? And what He has begun, He's doing, and He will indeed finish. Aren't you grateful for that this morning? That God is doing more in our case than we will ever understand? That He has done more than we'll ever understand? That He's doing more than we will ever understand? That He's at work in us?
It also reminds us in this place today that where God wants our faith stationed and anchored—where's that? Right here. In His Word. He wants our faith stationed, anchored in His all-sufficient Word. You see, I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ because I believe the Bible. And the Bible is God's Word. He says it, that settles it. That's it. It's His Word. It's all-sufficient, inerrant, infallible. He wants our faith stationed, anchored in His Word.
And even where we meet with experiences—see, I know that the Lord has transformed my life. At the age of 19, I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He transformed my life. But let me tell you this: my faith is not anchored, is not tied to my experience. It's not. My faith is tied to the Word of God. That's where He wants my faith anchored. It's what God wants.
It also reminds us in this place today that the resurrection of Jesus is not an aside. It's not a throwaway item when it comes to the Christian faith. Beloved, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is central. It is essential. It is non-negotiable. That's it. Non-negotiable. Period. Paragraph. No ifs and buts. If you don't believe that Jesus was raised from the dead bodily, you are not a Christian. That's it. You're not. You cannot be a Christ follower and deny the bodily resurrection of Christ.
Because He was raised from the dead, we know He was who He said He was. Because He was raised from the dead, we know that He accomplished what He said He came to accomplish. Because He lives, all the sins of all of those who trust in Him have been completely forgiven. If Christ was not raised from the dead, we are still in our sins. And because Christ was raised from the dead bodily, we know that one day we're going to be living with Him forever and ever. We are alive now spiritually, but we're going to live one day with Him physically.
And I want to remind us that our hope as believers is not just eternal life in the present, but we know from the Word of God that one day we're going to have a body, a new body, that matches the new us. Philippians 3:20-21, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able also to even subject all things to Himself." We too will experience one day a physical resurrection, and we're going to live body and soul with our Savior in the new heavens and the new earth forever and ever. That's the hope of the Christian.
Because He lives, our King not only rules in the present from the heavens, but He will rule forever and ever and ever. And we live in the expectation of His return. Because Jesus lives, there is no sting and death for all those who are in Christ. When we die, we go to sleep in death. We close our eyes and we open them in the presence of God. Because Jesus lives, we know the power of sanctification. The same power that raised Him from the grave is the power at work in our lives now, transforming us from glory to glory into the image of Christ.
Beloved, this is not a throwaway doctrine. This is at the heart of the Christian faith. 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." I mean, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then I'm going to stand here right now and say, Church, dismissed. Just go home. No need for a message. No need to sing. No need to sit here.
1 Corinthians 15:17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is” – what? – “worthless” – Empty. Empty. Worthless – “you are still in your sins." If Christ has not been raised from the dead, every person in this room still is unforgiven. You're still laden with all your sins. And we saw Friday that we have a God who is a God of burning holiness and a God of inflexible justice. So this is the most important matter we could ever consider on this Sunday.
This morning, what we witness in these 12 verses is how God begins to establish the faith of His people in the resurrection of Jesus, and we see really the transforming power of the resurrection really at work in the lives of His people. What we have is not, strictly speaking, an account of the resurrection itself. You'll notice by the time they discover the resurrection, it has happened already. The tomb is empty. Jesus is not there. So this is not, strictly speaking, an account of the resurrection itself. Luke doesn't describe that. In fact, none of the gospel writers describe the actual resurrection of Jesus. What he's describing is the aftermath of it, as the people of God come in contact with the knowledge of it, how they initially respond to their knowledge of the resurrection. That's what we have here the initial response to the resurrection of Jesus.
This morning I want to point out in these 12 verses six responses on the part of the disciples. Six. Six responses to the death and then the resurrection of Jesus. So the first thing I want us to see together as we look at the response to the resurrection of Jesus, number one, devotion, verse one. Devotion. So I'm going to use words to describe the response of the disciples to Jesus. The first one is devotion. "On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared."
Now, the word day “they” in that verse, verse one, refers back to the previous chapter, chapter 23 and verses 55 and 56. "Now the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. Then after they had returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." Next verse: "Now on the first day of the week"—that's Sunday—"at early dawn” – these women – “came to the tomb bringing the spices which they,” – those women, – “had prepared."
These women had witnessed, we know from the parallel accounts, Joseph of Arimathea taking care of the body of Jesus, the burial of Jesus. They had already determined that, you will remember, they were going to come back after the Sabbath and do a better job of preparing His body, anointing His body. And so what did they do? Well, they returned to the tomb. When do they do it? The text says early Sunday morning, at dawn, at daybreak, the earliest part of the day.
Well, why were they coming? Well, to prepare His body. Well, they have no expectation of a resurrection. So they come to prepare the body, they're expecting a body there, right? So there's no expectation of a resurrection. But what motivates them to come? What motivates them to come is love. Love.
And I want to say this, I want to say this to us to remember as we look at these verses: these true disciples, even though their faith was weak, these women, and their understanding was off, you still see the marks of genuine faith. You still see that. You still see the marks of genuine salvation. How? They loved Jesus. They loved Jesus. That's what motivates them on this early Sunday morning. They're going back to prepare the body. Why? They love Him. They love their Savior. They love their Lord. And they're devoted to Him even when their hopes have been crushed. Devoted to Him even as they are overwhelmed with grief. And so their faith is weak, their understanding is under-informed, nevertheless they loved Jesus. We see devotion. So these women are devoted to their Savior. And we can learn a lot from them, from their devotion to the Savior also.
The second response that we see to the death and then the resurrection of Jesus is discovery. Discovery, and that's found in verses two and three. "And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." So they make their way to the tomb early Sunday morning, and they discover something. They find something, and there's something also that they don't find.
What do they find? Well, they found the stone rolled away. They didn't know, by the way, a Roman guard had been stationed at the tomb. That happened on the Sabbath day when they were resting, and they had no knowledge of that. In fact, the women were wondering how they're going to get the stone out of the way to prepare the body. We know that from Mark's Gospel, 16 and verse 3. They arrive at the tomb, the stone is rolled away, and we know from Matthew's account that there was an earthquake, and we know that an angel rolled away the stone, Matthew 28:2. So they're not aware of this, and they just find the stone rolled away.
And they find in verse 3, going in, what do they find? Well, they find the body of Jesus is not there. The body of Christ is gone, which leads to the third response we see as they initially encounter the knowledge of the resurrection, and we see that in verse 4: perplexity. Perplexity. Devotion, verse 1, they come motivated by love to prepare the body of Jesus. Discovery, they discover the stone rolled away, and they also discover that the body is no longer there, and that leads to perplexity, verse 4: "It happened that while they were perplexed about this"—they were perplexed about this.
Luke, under inspiration, is telling us about their emotional, mental reaction to what they found, and he tells us they were perplexed; ‘Aporeisthai’ is the Greek word, not knowing how to proceed, not knowing how to speak, or act, or to determine. That is, to put it in the vernacular, is they were at a loss. They were confused. They don't know what to make of this. They had no explanation for this. They had no idea what had happened, and the word translated perplexed is used in John 13:22. Remember in that scene, the upper room, Jesus tells His disciples that one of them is going to betray Him, and we read there they were perplexed about that. They didn't understand it. They were confused.
A form of this word is used in the book of Acts, Acts 25:20, when Festus presents Paul's case to Agrippa, and he admits he doesn't know what to do with the charges brought against Paul. He's perplexed—same word about it. And also a form of this word is used in the book of Galatians. When Paul says to the Galatians, in Galatians 4:20, that he is perplexed about them.
So far from expecting a resurrection. When they first meet with the evidence of the resurrection, they don't make any connection at all. They don't see a stone rolled away in an empty tomb and think, ah, resurrection. That's not what comes to their mind. No, they see a stone rolled away, they see an empty tomb, and frankly what they're thinking is, someone must have stolen the body perhaps. They're confused. They're perplexed. They were befuddled. They don't know what to do with this. Utterly baffled by what they find, which leads to the fourth, the fourth response, verses 4 through 9: clarity.
Devotion, discovery, perplexity, and now clarity. Verse 4: "And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing, and when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words, and when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest."
Now under this heading, clarity, I want us to see several things to see about this clarity. I want to say a few things about this clarity. Number one, this is gracious clarity. This is gracious clarity. God is having mercy upon them. God is having pity upon them, isn't He? God is doing this. This is God now. God is doing this. This is God's message to them.
And remember what angels are, right? They're messengers. They're holy messengers. They're messengers of the living God. They are dispatched from the presence of the thrice-holy God. They didn't come on their own initiative, right? They didn't come in some independent fashion. You don't have like two angels, you know, saying to one another one day, you know, we're bored. How about we kind of go down and just explore and see what's... No, no, no. These angels are sent deliberately by God to do His bidding. And so they are His messengers, they are His mouthpiece, and they are giving His message, and God is giving them a clarifying word about what they are witnessing.
He doesn't owe this to them, does He? This is God loving them. This is God instructing them. This is God guiding them. This is God establishing their faith, fortifying their faith, pouring steel in their faith. This is God taking initiative to make sure that His people get what they are witnessing, that they grasp it, that they understand it, that they don't miss it. And oh, this is gracious, beloved. This is gracious.
We did not deserve Jesus. We did not deserve His coming. We did not deserve His living. We did not deserve His dying. We did not deserve his any explanation concerning Him, and we didn't deserve an explanation of His resurrection. And yet, yet, God gives and gives and gives and gives and gives and gives. He's gracious, and that includes the graciousness to guide His weak people into an understanding of what He has done for their soul. That's what He's doing.
Let me show you and tell you what I've done for you, My people. So this is gracious clarity, but this is also striking clarity. Striking. I mean, God does this in a memorable, striking fashion. How? By sending these two angels, because, I mean, look at this, verse 4, their dazzling appearance is noted. They “stood near them in” – what? – “Dazzling clothing”. I mean, their close proximity to the holiness of God, the brightness of the holiness of God, and here they are now.
So God gives them a visual aid to help them understand where this message is coming from, where this information is coming from. So these angels have a human form and appearance, and yet their dazzling appearance also says they're not mere creatures like men. They are created creatures, but they are from the presence of God. They're angels coming to do the bidding of the Sovereign One. So moving is this that the women have a sense now of fear. They're terrified, they're frightened, verse 5, – “and they bow their faces to the ground”. They are now, they realize this is God's doing. This is from God. This is from God.
So there's this heavy, thick sense of the presence of God, and God is making sure that this is memorable, it's striking, driving this message home. So you have this clarity, gracious clarity, striking clarity, but I want us to see also that this is a quizzical clarity, a quizzical clarity. God leads these women into this knowledge through a question, and it's a memorable question. The angel says to them in verse 5, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?" Don't you love that? Don't you love that? "Why do you seeking the living One among the dead?" It's sort of like a gentle rebuke, isn't it? It almost has a tinge of humor in it.
Didn't you? Didn't you hear Jesus? Weren't you listening? Didn't you know He was going to be raised from the dead? Well, why are you in a graveyard? You're in the wrong place, aren't you? If you want to find the Living Savior, well, He's alive. "Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?" So God wants to be sure at the same time through these angels, He wants to be sure His people don't miss it. So you have emphatic clarity as well. Emphatic clarity, because now He just states it. He just states it. Not just a question. He states it in verse 6. "He is not here, but He has risen." He is risen.
God is so kind through these angels. He doesn't leave any room for misunderstanding. No wiggle room whatsoever. He puts it in a memorable way, but then He puts it in an unmistakable, simple, straightforward statement. "He is not here, but He has risen." He is alive. Alive. But now notice something, and this is what I mentioned earlier about tying their faith to His Word. The Old Testament Scripture, we'll see that later. You see that in the chapter. But here are the words of His Son particularly in verse 6, and so we call this refreshing clarity.
This is refreshing clarity. "Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered"—and that takes us back to the Old Testament Scripture, right? To Isaiah 53—"He must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again."
This is refreshing clarity as God, through these angels, refreshes their memories. He wants to make sure their faith is tied to His words, the words of Christ. The words of Scripture. In Luke 9, we read that Jesus told them earlier, verses 18 to 22. He tells them after He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered John the Baptist, and some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets of old. And in verse 20 of Luke 9, He says, "And He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Peter answered and said, 'The Christ of God.'" But He warned them and directed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day."
I mean, this is something that Jesus had mentioned again and again and again. And this entourage of women were around Him, were around the disciples ministering to their needs constantly. So He told them in unmistakable terms, but they had forgotten. He told them on more than one occasion, but they didn't remember. And so here they are, though they are devoted to Him, when they discover this empty tomb in the absence of the body of Jesus, they are perplexed instead of actually believing.
And so God graciously gives them this clarifying word in a memorable, striking, quizzical, but emphatic fashion. "He is not here, but He has risen." Don't you remember? Don't you remember His words? And so what does He do? He refreshes their memories. Don't you remember what Jesus told you when you were in Galilee? You followed Him all the way from Galilee? Ladies, don't you remember what He told you?
So we see devotion, talking now about responses to the initial encounter with the knowledge of the resurrection. Devotion. We see discovery. We see perplexity. We see clarity. But now we see something else that's actually sad. We see unbelief. We see unbelief. Look at verses 10 and 11. You see, these women received this clarifying word from God in verse 8. They remembered His word. When they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest, not just the eleven, but to all the gathered disciples, all those followers of Jesus beyond just the apostles. So they shared it with everyone.
Verse 10: “Now Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to the apostles.” This is really amazing, isn't it? Amazing. It's amazing that, first of all, that the first people—I mean, this is a message by itself—who had knowledge of the resurrection given by God in this fashion were these women. What an honoring, exalting thing that this was, that women would receive this first testimony, that they would be the first ones to be able to report the resurrection. They were the first messengers of the gospel.
Then they go and report the resurrection to these men, these men who were chosen by Jesus to be the foundation for the church moving forward. I mean, these are—think about this, this is stunning—these are the leaders of the Lord's church. These are the men who have been especially prepared by Him to lead His church into the future. And they're told this report by these women that He's been raised from the dead, and yet they meet with this report of the resurrection. And what's the response? They don't believe. They don't believe. Stunning. They don't believe.
It reminds us again of our weakness, of the fact that salvation is not our work. It's God's work, that what God has done in our case is greater than anything that could be explained by us. Salvation is mercy. It's grace. And their weakness is a testimony of that. In fact, we're told in verse 11 what their attitude was. Look at their attitude, and this is, like, stunning. “But these words appear to them as” – what? What do you have in your Bible? – "nonsense." “Nonsense, and they were not believing.” ‘Lēros’ is the Greek word translated in the LSV, nonsense, idle tale, tattle, pure nonsense. That is, oh, you know, these ladies have been probably under great stress, and they have been very sad, and their emotions got the better of them, and it must be their imagination. It must be.
You know, I don't know what they were thinking exactly, the apostles. I don't know how they explained this, but in some way they took this to be made up like an idle tale and nonsense. They flat out don't believe it. They don't. But the twelfth verse tells us something more encouraging. There's someone who is, in hearing this report of the empty tomb—well, look at his reaction. Something in these words that drives him to, and this is our last word, hope, hope.
“But Peter”. – I love that. – “But Peter stood up and ran to the tomb”. We know from John's account, it tells us that also the apostle John was with him as well. They “ran to the tomb; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen wrappings only. And he went away by himself, marveling at what had happened.” John tells us that as soon as he himself walked into the tomb and saw what he saw, he followed Peter in, and he tells us he believed. John believed. Peter is ‘thaumazōn’, marveling, to be struck with awe, amazement, astonishment.
I don't know what point he comes to full grips with what he has seen and just everything coming together, but at this point, he is pondering at least what he has witnessed, and he is amazed and gripped by it. You talk about evidence of genuine faith even when there's enormous weakness. Talk about evidence of genuine love for Jesus even when there's a weak understanding. Peter is exhibit A.
Here's a man who has denied the Lord three times. Here's a man who, when he hears the news of an empty tomb, cannot stay in his place. He must go. He must see. He rises, he runs, he runs to the tomb. Why do you run to the tomb, Peter? Well, because you see, he does love the Lord Jesus. He finds the grave closed, and he returns amazed by what he has seen.
With the remaining time that we have, I want to ask a few questions by way of application and implication. What do we see in these verses? What do we have in these verses? What do we see here?
Beloved, we see an almighty and altogether gracious God tenderly leading His people into an understanding that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, is not dead, but He has been raised from the dead just as He’s promised. His work is greater than these weak little ones that He has saved. They don’t understand. They don’t get it. They don’t remember. They don’t believe. But He Himself has granted them genuine faith. Though it’s not a perfected faith yet, what He has begun, He will complete. He will complete.
And here He is, a tender Father, leading His people into an understanding of what He has done to save them. They will get it because He’s going to make sure they will get it. They must get it. And this is just the beginning of them getting it. For beginning in verse 13, the Lord Jesus will take the initiative to make sure they get it too. One of the most astounding passages we’ll ever read as Jesus teaches about Himself from the Old Testament scripture on the road to Emmaus.
So this is what I ask each and every one of you this morning. Have you gotten it? Have you gotten it? Do you believe that Jesus is not dead, but alive? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God the Son? Do you believe that He came from heaven to earth, the eternal beloved of heaven, Son of God, took to Himself a sinless human nature, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life on this planet, on this sin-sick planet, lived a sinless life, then died on a cross as our substitute, as a substitute for sinners like us?
Do you believe that God the Father poured out His wrath upon His own beloved Son so that everyone for whom Christ suffered, everyone who trusts in Christ as Savior and submits to Him as Lord, is and will be forgiven? Do you believe that? So that there’s no condemnation for us. Do you believe that three days later, He rose victoriously from the tomb?
When these women came to take care of His body, they found an empty tomb, and the explanation for the empty tomb is not a dream, it is not a made-up story, it is not a fake resurrection, but Christ is indeed alive. And that, in fact, He has made many appearances over 40 days, and then He ascended back into heaven. The same Jesus who ascended back into heaven is coming back again. Do you believe that? Do you?
And can I say something to you as well? Though your faith in Christ may be weak, child of Christ, child of God, though your faith in Christ may be weak, may lack understanding in some places, every truly saved, genuinely saved person in this place, you not only believe in the resurrected Jesus, but you love Him. You love Him. And the resurrection is not something that you celebrate once a year. The resurrection of Christ is something you celebrate every single day because you know why? The resurrected Christ has transformed your life. That’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You see the difference in your life, in a transformed life, that the resurrection has brought to pass. You see, you just don’t know about Him. You know Him. You know Him. You’ve come to know Him by faith, and now you love Him, and you have a relationship with Him. You have fellowship with God through faith in Christ, through the person of Christ, and the resurrection means that your life has been transformed, radically transformed from the day you met Jesus for the rest of your life. You live for Him every single day. You rejoice in His life every single day. You rest in the finished work of His death and resurrection every single day. Is that your story?
I really have a great compassion for those people who come to church twice a year. They’re known as CEO, Christmas Easter only. Well, they might come to church when they’re in trouble. When trouble hits, well, time to get to church. Listen, I don’t condemn you if that’s you sitting here this morning. I don’t, I don’t. I’m so thankful and so glad you’re here. I am, but I call on you today to move from knowing about Jesus to placing your faith in Jesus as the Lord of your life who saves you, and He will save you. He will forgive your sins, and He will transform your heart from someone who had no real interest in Him or a passing interest or a passing curiosity to someone who now loves, adores Jesus, devoted to Jesus.
And if you were to ask believers in this place, they would say something like this. My faith is still weak at times. I still lack understanding in so many areas, so many places, but what I know as a reality is a love for the Son of God that God has produced in my heart that does not let me go. And He will do the same for you. And no longer would Jesus be for you twice a year interest or just when you’re in trouble, but He becomes your life.
It’s only when you can say that to live is Christ, you’ll be able to say that death is what? What, church? Gain, ‘kerdos’, profit, profit. Death is gain, but only when you can say, Jesus is my life, and so I invite you this morning to make Jesus your life. The resurrected Jesus, He really is alive, and you can really know Him by God’s grace.
The gospel commands men and women everywhere to repent, that is to turn from life as you’ve known it, living in your sin, living in your alienation, in your estrangement from God. You repent, you turn from that life, and you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible gives us this promise that whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is saved. Would you believe this morning? Would you call out to the Son of God, the living Son of God, and ask Jesus to save you?
What a Savior He is. What a marvelous Savior He is. And how does the resurrection change everything? The transforming power of the resurrection? Well, turn to Hebrews 2. I love this portion of God's word, the implication of that day, the power, the transforming power of the resurrection. Easter changes everything. Chapter two, two verses that describe that for us, how the resurrection changed everything. Verses 14 and 15: "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."
Beloved, the resurrection changed people. The resurrection changed people from fearful slaves to fearless sons—fearful slaves to fearless sons. You see, this text tells us that Jesus took flesh, He became human so as to die for our sins in our place and then rise again and through His death destroy the greatest weapon and instrument of fear that Satan had—fear of death. Jesus broke the back of all false religion that used the fear of death to keep people enslaved. How? How did He do that? Answer: the power of the resurrection.
The power of the resurrection is freedom from the bondage to the fear of death—freedom. See what made Peter and John, Peter who denied Jesus, Peter who denied Jesus and these disciples who had fled, they shrank back cowardly and fled, what made those cowards such bold witnesses 50 days later before the Sanhedrin? What made them like lions, bold lions? Answer: the power of the resurrection.
Chapter and verse, Acts 4:33: "And with great power the apostles were bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." Wow. From fearful slaves to fearless sons. What gave Paul, someone who persecuted Christianity, such boldness to face all of his persecutions? Answer: 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." Fearful slaves had become fearless sons.
You see, this means in every generation in these 2,000 years plus, the same power that made those timid fishermen become unstoppable witnesses is present. It has been present, and the growing amount of time between today and the resurrection of Jesus, the date of Christ's resurrection, has not diminished that power, has not made it fade into a memory because it is omnipotent power. It's renewed and present in every generation.
The truth of the resurrection means this: everyone who embraces Jesus as Savior and King is delivered from the fear of death in two ways. First, if you know your sins are forgiven by the risen, exalted Christ, then you literally have living proof that you're forgiven and that your physical death will not be the end of you. That's why Paul says this: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." And when losing your life is no longer the greatest threat, the greatest fear—ah, beloved, you are an awesome weapon in the hand of God. You are an awesome weapon in the hand of God.
In fact, Revelation 12 describes how Satan is defeated. In verse 11, we read, "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death." You can't stop a group of people like this. That's the first way. The power of the resurrection delivers you from the fear of your physical death because you know your sins are forgiven. And if you die, blessed be God, it's gain. I'm gonna be with Jesus. It's not the end. It's simply continuation, but amplified continuation of intimate, perfect communion with Jesus—communion now perfected.
But there's a second way the power of the resurrection works. Christians who embrace Christ are not only not afraid of physical death—not only we're not afraid of our physical death—they are not afraid of personal death to a worldly life. Let that grip you. We're not only not afraid of our physical death, but we're not afraid of personal death to a worldly life. In other words, we're not afraid of losing life.
Let me explain. You see, when you're a slave to this life, all that matters is that you gather up the experiences of this world as quickly as you can, as much of it as you can. You know, life is short. I gotta live it up. You must get what this world has: riches and children and marriage and family and fame and achievement, promotion, success and status and possessions and love and sexual pleasure and power and other pleasures. And you must get it. You must get it all. You must get it and you must get the money so you can get it. And you must get it while you still have time—ideally, while you're still in your youth and health and you still have years. And what is that, if that's all you live for? Slavery. Slavery.
Paul says, when you become a Christian, God crucifies the old life in you. He puts the resurrection, eternal life of His own Son into you by His Spirit. And you know that new life is not an earthworm life burrowing through this world, scavenging this dying world for crumbs. You know what it is? Colossians 3:1, this new life: "If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above." This is where your mind is set as you live here and now. You live here in the light of there. You live now in the light of then. Your mind is set on the things of above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
When you have new life, Romans 6 says, that we were buried with Him through baptism—through immersion—into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in what? “newness of life." That's what He puts into you.
And 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, "And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." And Galatians 2:20, Paul says those words: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
You see, beloved, in fact, it's everywhere in Scripture, cover to cover. Believers are those who get new life, God's life. And believers are able to experience a continual death to the world, to a worldly life, to a selfish, self-centered life, to a life lived only for this life. And why can they do that? Because of the power of the resurrection.
The power of the resurrection says, die to that life and you'll really live. Try to have the old life, try to grab at that life, and you will experience a living death. That's why the most repeated words of Jesus in all of Scripture—six times repeated—"Whoever desires to save his life in this world will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." The power of the resurrection.
You see, if I'm not only unafraid of my physical death, but if I am unafraid of dying to what the world tells me, what life is really about, then nothing can stop me from sharing this message of life and light and love with the dying world. I am the freest soul on earth. Free from the fear of death and free from the fear of missing out. Free from being chained to my own appetites and low earthly desires, I am the freest person in the world.
Now, unleash an army of these people in every generation with the power of the resurrection. And you know what you end up doing? You turn the world upside down. You change the world. Because these people are living embodiments of the power of the resurrection. 2 Corinthians 4:10: "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." The resurrection changed the world. But it didn't change it in the abstract. It didn't change it by accident. It changed it because it changed slaves, fearful slaves, into fearless sons.
Easter's not just a nice Christian holiday. It's quite simply the most important day in human history. But then it has to go deeper than that. It has to go deeper than simply acknowledging that. Have you been delivered from the fear of death? I don't mean, are you blasé about death? None of us is. I don't mean, well, I'm not trying to not think about it. No, no, is death still really an unthinkable thing to you? A deep unknown contemplated with momentary horror?
If that's you, then you need to come to Him who went there and back again. And then have you been delivered from the fear of losing life, the fear that life would slip away through your fingers if you give it to Jesus, that you won't know who you are anymore, that you won't be the person that you wanna be if you give your life to Jesus? If that's your fear, then let me say to you this morning, you've not yet experienced the power of the resurrection because when Christ is yours and you are His, you know the paradox from the inside out. You know that when you die to yourself, you really live. And when He takes your place and His life is your life, it's death—it's a death and a resurrection that you wanna have.
“You are giving up what you cannot keep and gaining what you cannot lose”, Jim Elliot. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must still come and embrace the risen Jesus as your King. I beg you, do it today. Today. Today is the day of salvation. Receive the risen King as the end of your old life and the beginning of the new one. That's how you go from being a fearful slave to a fearless son or daughter. Be free from the fear of death and let the power of the resurrection transform you as it transformed those first disciples.
Let's pray.
The first thing to set the stage for us, that we need to be on the lookout for and keep in mind as we begin to take this portion of the Word of God verse by verse, I want you to recognize with me in these verses that none of the disciples—first of all, none of the disciples—expected the resurrection of Jesus. Not a single disciple expected the resurrection of Jesus. Now, that's important because that says to me that the idea that they would make up a resurrection story, or that they would fake a resurrection, is contrary to every account we have of their thought process, of their words, of their attitudes, of their mindset, directly following the death of Jesus and even directly following the resurrection of Jesus.
We don't find, we don't have here a group of people who so want to believe in a resurrection that they would actually come up with one, that they would create one, that maybe even they would take a set of facts like an empty tomb and then somehow exaggerate it into a resurrection story. That's not what we find here. That's not what we have here at all. We have people who did not expect it, and in fact, as we will see when they first were met with it, they did not believe it. They didn't believe it.
The second thing I want us to notice is our Lord's work in them. I want us to notice our Lord's work in them. I'm talking about the disciples of Jesus, those who truly believed in Jesus in this account. Our Lord's work in them, His commitment to them is greater, and we need to keep that in mind. His work in them and His commitment to them is greater than their own faith or understanding. And I love this. God does not cast them away due to their lack of faith or understanding when it comes to the resurrection. They didn't understand, they didn't initially believe, but our God did not cast them away.
Instead, what does He do? What does He do? He takes the initiative to make sure that they get the resurrection, to make sure that they understand what took place, what has happened, to make sure that they believe in what took place, what occurred. Our God is taking the initiative throughout this entire account. He's taking the initiative to make sure that His people believe in the resurrection. And that tells me that His work in them, His commitment to them is not explained by them, but by Him. By Him. Salvation is the Lord's work. Salvation is the Lord's work. He is the author of it, and He is the finisher of it. He's the perfecter of it. He's the author and the finisher of our faith. So they don't expect it. God makes sure they're going to get it.
The third thing I want us to notice together is that He, God, takes pains to make sure that their faith in the resurrection is tied to the Scripture; old Testament Scripture and the words of His own beloved Son. Throughout this entire account, God is taking great pains to connect their faith in the resurrection with His words. They're going to meet with some astounding experiences, but every time they meet with these experiences, what does God do? And this is really incredible. He ties their faith, not to the experiences, but to His own sure word. Always.
And the fourth thing that I want us to notice is that the disciples must believe in the resurrection. If they are going to follow Christ, they must know and believe that He's not dead, but He's alive. He has been raised from the dead. Bodily raised from the dead. Even this morning as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, I want to remind us we're not celebrating some concept. We're not celebrating some religious idea. The message of Easter is not new beginnings. We're celebrating what is real, historical fact. He was bodily, physically raised from the dead.
Jesus of Nazareth died and three days after they placed Him in a borrowed tomb, He came out of that tomb alive, physically, bodily, victoriously, triumphantly. It is a fact and God wanted His people to know that. And in fact, if they're going to be followers of Jesus, committed followers of Jesus, they had to know it, they had to believe it, they had to embrace it. That Jesus was raised from the dead bodily and never to die again.
So they don't get it. God makes sure that they are going to get it. God takes the initiative. He ties their faith in the resurrection to His word and they must get it. They must believe it. Now, those four observations that we see throughout, really, these verses and throughout the chapter have lasting meaning for every believer in this place. Lasting meaning for every single believer in this place. It reminds us that God's work in us is not explained by us, beloved. It's not, but by Him. And God's work in us is greater and more certain than our expectations, than our faith, than our understanding, than our maturity.
Aren't you grateful that God doesn't cast you away when your faith is weak? Aren't you? When your understanding is limited, He doesn't cast you away? When your expectations are far too low based on God's promises, aren't you glad that He doesn't cast you away? That He doesn't let go of you, believer, but His work in you is certain? And what He has begun, He's doing, and He will indeed finish. Aren't you grateful for that this morning? That God is doing more in our case than we will ever understand? That He has done more than we'll ever understand? That He's doing more than we will ever understand? That He's at work in us?
It also reminds us in this place today that where God wants our faith stationed and anchored—where's that? Right here. In His Word. He wants our faith stationed, anchored in His all-sufficient Word. You see, I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ because I believe the Bible. And the Bible is God's Word. He says it, that settles it. That's it. It's His Word. It's all-sufficient, inerrant, infallible. He wants our faith stationed, anchored in His Word.
And even where we meet with experiences—see, I know that the Lord has transformed my life. At the age of 19, I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He transformed my life. But let me tell you this: my faith is not anchored, is not tied to my experience. It's not. My faith is tied to the Word of God. That's where He wants my faith anchored. It's what God wants.
It also reminds us in this place today that the resurrection of Jesus is not an aside. It's not a throwaway item when it comes to the Christian faith. Beloved, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is central. It is essential. It is non-negotiable. That's it. Non-negotiable. Period. Paragraph. No ifs and buts. If you don't believe that Jesus was raised from the dead bodily, you are not a Christian. That's it. You're not. You cannot be a Christ follower and deny the bodily resurrection of Christ.
Because He was raised from the dead, we know He was who He said He was. Because He was raised from the dead, we know that He accomplished what He said He came to accomplish. Because He lives, all the sins of all of those who trust in Him have been completely forgiven. If Christ was not raised from the dead, we are still in our sins. And because Christ was raised from the dead bodily, we know that one day we're going to be living with Him forever and ever. We are alive now spiritually, but we're going to live one day with Him physically.
And I want to remind us that our hope as believers is not just eternal life in the present, but we know from the Word of God that one day we're going to have a body, a new body, that matches the new us. Philippians 3:20-21, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able also to even subject all things to Himself." We too will experience one day a physical resurrection, and we're going to live body and soul with our Savior in the new heavens and the new earth forever and ever. That's the hope of the Christian.
Because He lives, our King not only rules in the present from the heavens, but He will rule forever and ever and ever. And we live in the expectation of His return. Because Jesus lives, there is no sting and death for all those who are in Christ. When we die, we go to sleep in death. We close our eyes and we open them in the presence of God. Because Jesus lives, we know the power of sanctification. The same power that raised Him from the grave is the power at work in our lives now, transforming us from glory to glory into the image of Christ.
Beloved, this is not a throwaway doctrine. This is at the heart of the Christian faith. 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." I mean, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then I'm going to stand here right now and say, Church, dismissed. Just go home. No need for a message. No need to sing. No need to sit here.
1 Corinthians 15:17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is” – what? – “worthless” – Empty. Empty. Worthless – “you are still in your sins." If Christ has not been raised from the dead, every person in this room still is unforgiven. You're still laden with all your sins. And we saw Friday that we have a God who is a God of burning holiness and a God of inflexible justice. So this is the most important matter we could ever consider on this Sunday.
This morning, what we witness in these 12 verses is how God begins to establish the faith of His people in the resurrection of Jesus, and we see really the transforming power of the resurrection really at work in the lives of His people. What we have is not, strictly speaking, an account of the resurrection itself. You'll notice by the time they discover the resurrection, it has happened already. The tomb is empty. Jesus is not there. So this is not, strictly speaking, an account of the resurrection itself. Luke doesn't describe that. In fact, none of the gospel writers describe the actual resurrection of Jesus. What he's describing is the aftermath of it, as the people of God come in contact with the knowledge of it, how they initially respond to their knowledge of the resurrection. That's what we have here the initial response to the resurrection of Jesus.
This morning I want to point out in these 12 verses six responses on the part of the disciples. Six. Six responses to the death and then the resurrection of Jesus. So the first thing I want us to see together as we look at the response to the resurrection of Jesus, number one, devotion, verse one. Devotion. So I'm going to use words to describe the response of the disciples to Jesus. The first one is devotion. "On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared."
Now, the word day “they” in that verse, verse one, refers back to the previous chapter, chapter 23 and verses 55 and 56. "Now the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. Then after they had returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." Next verse: "Now on the first day of the week"—that's Sunday—"at early dawn” – these women – “came to the tomb bringing the spices which they,” – those women, – “had prepared."
These women had witnessed, we know from the parallel accounts, Joseph of Arimathea taking care of the body of Jesus, the burial of Jesus. They had already determined that, you will remember, they were going to come back after the Sabbath and do a better job of preparing His body, anointing His body. And so what did they do? Well, they returned to the tomb. When do they do it? The text says early Sunday morning, at dawn, at daybreak, the earliest part of the day.
Well, why were they coming? Well, to prepare His body. Well, they have no expectation of a resurrection. So they come to prepare the body, they're expecting a body there, right? So there's no expectation of a resurrection. But what motivates them to come? What motivates them to come is love. Love.
And I want to say this, I want to say this to us to remember as we look at these verses: these true disciples, even though their faith was weak, these women, and their understanding was off, you still see the marks of genuine faith. You still see that. You still see the marks of genuine salvation. How? They loved Jesus. They loved Jesus. That's what motivates them on this early Sunday morning. They're going back to prepare the body. Why? They love Him. They love their Savior. They love their Lord. And they're devoted to Him even when their hopes have been crushed. Devoted to Him even as they are overwhelmed with grief. And so their faith is weak, their understanding is under-informed, nevertheless they loved Jesus. We see devotion. So these women are devoted to their Savior. And we can learn a lot from them, from their devotion to the Savior also.
The second response that we see to the death and then the resurrection of Jesus is discovery. Discovery, and that's found in verses two and three. "And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." So they make their way to the tomb early Sunday morning, and they discover something. They find something, and there's something also that they don't find.
What do they find? Well, they found the stone rolled away. They didn't know, by the way, a Roman guard had been stationed at the tomb. That happened on the Sabbath day when they were resting, and they had no knowledge of that. In fact, the women were wondering how they're going to get the stone out of the way to prepare the body. We know that from Mark's Gospel, 16 and verse 3. They arrive at the tomb, the stone is rolled away, and we know from Matthew's account that there was an earthquake, and we know that an angel rolled away the stone, Matthew 28:2. So they're not aware of this, and they just find the stone rolled away.
And they find in verse 3, going in, what do they find? Well, they find the body of Jesus is not there. The body of Christ is gone, which leads to the third response we see as they initially encounter the knowledge of the resurrection, and we see that in verse 4: perplexity. Perplexity. Devotion, verse 1, they come motivated by love to prepare the body of Jesus. Discovery, they discover the stone rolled away, and they also discover that the body is no longer there, and that leads to perplexity, verse 4: "It happened that while they were perplexed about this"—they were perplexed about this.
Luke, under inspiration, is telling us about their emotional, mental reaction to what they found, and he tells us they were perplexed; ‘Aporeisthai’ is the Greek word, not knowing how to proceed, not knowing how to speak, or act, or to determine. That is, to put it in the vernacular, is they were at a loss. They were confused. They don't know what to make of this. They had no explanation for this. They had no idea what had happened, and the word translated perplexed is used in John 13:22. Remember in that scene, the upper room, Jesus tells His disciples that one of them is going to betray Him, and we read there they were perplexed about that. They didn't understand it. They were confused.
A form of this word is used in the book of Acts, Acts 25:20, when Festus presents Paul's case to Agrippa, and he admits he doesn't know what to do with the charges brought against Paul. He's perplexed—same word about it. And also a form of this word is used in the book of Galatians. When Paul says to the Galatians, in Galatians 4:20, that he is perplexed about them.
So far from expecting a resurrection. When they first meet with the evidence of the resurrection, they don't make any connection at all. They don't see a stone rolled away in an empty tomb and think, ah, resurrection. That's not what comes to their mind. No, they see a stone rolled away, they see an empty tomb, and frankly what they're thinking is, someone must have stolen the body perhaps. They're confused. They're perplexed. They were befuddled. They don't know what to do with this. Utterly baffled by what they find, which leads to the fourth, the fourth response, verses 4 through 9: clarity.
Devotion, discovery, perplexity, and now clarity. Verse 4: "And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing, and when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words, and when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest."
Now under this heading, clarity, I want us to see several things to see about this clarity. I want to say a few things about this clarity. Number one, this is gracious clarity. This is gracious clarity. God is having mercy upon them. God is having pity upon them, isn't He? God is doing this. This is God now. God is doing this. This is God's message to them.
And remember what angels are, right? They're messengers. They're holy messengers. They're messengers of the living God. They are dispatched from the presence of the thrice-holy God. They didn't come on their own initiative, right? They didn't come in some independent fashion. You don't have like two angels, you know, saying to one another one day, you know, we're bored. How about we kind of go down and just explore and see what's... No, no, no. These angels are sent deliberately by God to do His bidding. And so they are His messengers, they are His mouthpiece, and they are giving His message, and God is giving them a clarifying word about what they are witnessing.
He doesn't owe this to them, does He? This is God loving them. This is God instructing them. This is God guiding them. This is God establishing their faith, fortifying their faith, pouring steel in their faith. This is God taking initiative to make sure that His people get what they are witnessing, that they grasp it, that they understand it, that they don't miss it. And oh, this is gracious, beloved. This is gracious.
We did not deserve Jesus. We did not deserve His coming. We did not deserve His living. We did not deserve His dying. We did not deserve his any explanation concerning Him, and we didn't deserve an explanation of His resurrection. And yet, yet, God gives and gives and gives and gives and gives and gives. He's gracious, and that includes the graciousness to guide His weak people into an understanding of what He has done for their soul. That's what He's doing.
Let me show you and tell you what I've done for you, My people. So this is gracious clarity, but this is also striking clarity. Striking. I mean, God does this in a memorable, striking fashion. How? By sending these two angels, because, I mean, look at this, verse 4, their dazzling appearance is noted. They “stood near them in” – what? – “Dazzling clothing”. I mean, their close proximity to the holiness of God, the brightness of the holiness of God, and here they are now.
So God gives them a visual aid to help them understand where this message is coming from, where this information is coming from. So these angels have a human form and appearance, and yet their dazzling appearance also says they're not mere creatures like men. They are created creatures, but they are from the presence of God. They're angels coming to do the bidding of the Sovereign One. So moving is this that the women have a sense now of fear. They're terrified, they're frightened, verse 5, – “and they bow their faces to the ground”. They are now, they realize this is God's doing. This is from God. This is from God.
So there's this heavy, thick sense of the presence of God, and God is making sure that this is memorable, it's striking, driving this message home. So you have this clarity, gracious clarity, striking clarity, but I want us to see also that this is a quizzical clarity, a quizzical clarity. God leads these women into this knowledge through a question, and it's a memorable question. The angel says to them in verse 5, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?" Don't you love that? Don't you love that? "Why do you seeking the living One among the dead?" It's sort of like a gentle rebuke, isn't it? It almost has a tinge of humor in it.
Didn't you? Didn't you hear Jesus? Weren't you listening? Didn't you know He was going to be raised from the dead? Well, why are you in a graveyard? You're in the wrong place, aren't you? If you want to find the Living Savior, well, He's alive. "Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?" So God wants to be sure at the same time through these angels, He wants to be sure His people don't miss it. So you have emphatic clarity as well. Emphatic clarity, because now He just states it. He just states it. Not just a question. He states it in verse 6. "He is not here, but He has risen." He is risen.
God is so kind through these angels. He doesn't leave any room for misunderstanding. No wiggle room whatsoever. He puts it in a memorable way, but then He puts it in an unmistakable, simple, straightforward statement. "He is not here, but He has risen." He is alive. Alive. But now notice something, and this is what I mentioned earlier about tying their faith to His Word. The Old Testament Scripture, we'll see that later. You see that in the chapter. But here are the words of His Son particularly in verse 6, and so we call this refreshing clarity.
This is refreshing clarity. "Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered"—and that takes us back to the Old Testament Scripture, right? To Isaiah 53—"He must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again."
This is refreshing clarity as God, through these angels, refreshes their memories. He wants to make sure their faith is tied to His words, the words of Christ. The words of Scripture. In Luke 9, we read that Jesus told them earlier, verses 18 to 22. He tells them after He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered John the Baptist, and some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets of old. And in verse 20 of Luke 9, He says, "And He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Peter answered and said, 'The Christ of God.'" But He warned them and directed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day."
I mean, this is something that Jesus had mentioned again and again and again. And this entourage of women were around Him, were around the disciples ministering to their needs constantly. So He told them in unmistakable terms, but they had forgotten. He told them on more than one occasion, but they didn't remember. And so here they are, though they are devoted to Him, when they discover this empty tomb in the absence of the body of Jesus, they are perplexed instead of actually believing.
And so God graciously gives them this clarifying word in a memorable, striking, quizzical, but emphatic fashion. "He is not here, but He has risen." Don't you remember? Don't you remember His words? And so what does He do? He refreshes their memories. Don't you remember what Jesus told you when you were in Galilee? You followed Him all the way from Galilee? Ladies, don't you remember what He told you?
So we see devotion, talking now about responses to the initial encounter with the knowledge of the resurrection. Devotion. We see discovery. We see perplexity. We see clarity. But now we see something else that's actually sad. We see unbelief. We see unbelief. Look at verses 10 and 11. You see, these women received this clarifying word from God in verse 8. They remembered His word. When they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest, not just the eleven, but to all the gathered disciples, all those followers of Jesus beyond just the apostles. So they shared it with everyone.
Verse 10: “Now Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to the apostles.” This is really amazing, isn't it? Amazing. It's amazing that, first of all, that the first people—I mean, this is a message by itself—who had knowledge of the resurrection given by God in this fashion were these women. What an honoring, exalting thing that this was, that women would receive this first testimony, that they would be the first ones to be able to report the resurrection. They were the first messengers of the gospel.
Then they go and report the resurrection to these men, these men who were chosen by Jesus to be the foundation for the church moving forward. I mean, these are—think about this, this is stunning—these are the leaders of the Lord's church. These are the men who have been especially prepared by Him to lead His church into the future. And they're told this report by these women that He's been raised from the dead, and yet they meet with this report of the resurrection. And what's the response? They don't believe. They don't believe. Stunning. They don't believe.
It reminds us again of our weakness, of the fact that salvation is not our work. It's God's work, that what God has done in our case is greater than anything that could be explained by us. Salvation is mercy. It's grace. And their weakness is a testimony of that. In fact, we're told in verse 11 what their attitude was. Look at their attitude, and this is, like, stunning. “But these words appear to them as” – what? What do you have in your Bible? – "nonsense." “Nonsense, and they were not believing.” ‘Lēros’ is the Greek word translated in the LSV, nonsense, idle tale, tattle, pure nonsense. That is, oh, you know, these ladies have been probably under great stress, and they have been very sad, and their emotions got the better of them, and it must be their imagination. It must be.
You know, I don't know what they were thinking exactly, the apostles. I don't know how they explained this, but in some way they took this to be made up like an idle tale and nonsense. They flat out don't believe it. They don't. But the twelfth verse tells us something more encouraging. There's someone who is, in hearing this report of the empty tomb—well, look at his reaction. Something in these words that drives him to, and this is our last word, hope, hope.
“But Peter”. – I love that. – “But Peter stood up and ran to the tomb”. We know from John's account, it tells us that also the apostle John was with him as well. They “ran to the tomb; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen wrappings only. And he went away by himself, marveling at what had happened.” John tells us that as soon as he himself walked into the tomb and saw what he saw, he followed Peter in, and he tells us he believed. John believed. Peter is ‘thaumazōn’, marveling, to be struck with awe, amazement, astonishment.
I don't know what point he comes to full grips with what he has seen and just everything coming together, but at this point, he is pondering at least what he has witnessed, and he is amazed and gripped by it. You talk about evidence of genuine faith even when there's enormous weakness. Talk about evidence of genuine love for Jesus even when there's a weak understanding. Peter is exhibit A.
Here's a man who has denied the Lord three times. Here's a man who, when he hears the news of an empty tomb, cannot stay in his place. He must go. He must see. He rises, he runs, he runs to the tomb. Why do you run to the tomb, Peter? Well, because you see, he does love the Lord Jesus. He finds the grave closed, and he returns amazed by what he has seen.
With the remaining time that we have, I want to ask a few questions by way of application and implication. What do we see in these verses? What do we have in these verses? What do we see here?
Beloved, we see an almighty and altogether gracious God tenderly leading His people into an understanding that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, is not dead, but He has been raised from the dead just as He’s promised. His work is greater than these weak little ones that He has saved. They don’t understand. They don’t get it. They don’t remember. They don’t believe. But He Himself has granted them genuine faith. Though it’s not a perfected faith yet, what He has begun, He will complete. He will complete.
And here He is, a tender Father, leading His people into an understanding of what He has done to save them. They will get it because He’s going to make sure they will get it. They must get it. And this is just the beginning of them getting it. For beginning in verse 13, the Lord Jesus will take the initiative to make sure they get it too. One of the most astounding passages we’ll ever read as Jesus teaches about Himself from the Old Testament scripture on the road to Emmaus.
So this is what I ask each and every one of you this morning. Have you gotten it? Have you gotten it? Do you believe that Jesus is not dead, but alive? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God the Son? Do you believe that He came from heaven to earth, the eternal beloved of heaven, Son of God, took to Himself a sinless human nature, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life on this planet, on this sin-sick planet, lived a sinless life, then died on a cross as our substitute, as a substitute for sinners like us?
Do you believe that God the Father poured out His wrath upon His own beloved Son so that everyone for whom Christ suffered, everyone who trusts in Christ as Savior and submits to Him as Lord, is and will be forgiven? Do you believe that? So that there’s no condemnation for us. Do you believe that three days later, He rose victoriously from the tomb?
When these women came to take care of His body, they found an empty tomb, and the explanation for the empty tomb is not a dream, it is not a made-up story, it is not a fake resurrection, but Christ is indeed alive. And that, in fact, He has made many appearances over 40 days, and then He ascended back into heaven. The same Jesus who ascended back into heaven is coming back again. Do you believe that? Do you?
And can I say something to you as well? Though your faith in Christ may be weak, child of Christ, child of God, though your faith in Christ may be weak, may lack understanding in some places, every truly saved, genuinely saved person in this place, you not only believe in the resurrected Jesus, but you love Him. You love Him. And the resurrection is not something that you celebrate once a year. The resurrection of Christ is something you celebrate every single day because you know why? The resurrected Christ has transformed your life. That’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You see the difference in your life, in a transformed life, that the resurrection has brought to pass. You see, you just don’t know about Him. You know Him. You know Him. You’ve come to know Him by faith, and now you love Him, and you have a relationship with Him. You have fellowship with God through faith in Christ, through the person of Christ, and the resurrection means that your life has been transformed, radically transformed from the day you met Jesus for the rest of your life. You live for Him every single day. You rejoice in His life every single day. You rest in the finished work of His death and resurrection every single day. Is that your story?
I really have a great compassion for those people who come to church twice a year. They’re known as CEO, Christmas Easter only. Well, they might come to church when they’re in trouble. When trouble hits, well, time to get to church. Listen, I don’t condemn you if that’s you sitting here this morning. I don’t, I don’t. I’m so thankful and so glad you’re here. I am, but I call on you today to move from knowing about Jesus to placing your faith in Jesus as the Lord of your life who saves you, and He will save you. He will forgive your sins, and He will transform your heart from someone who had no real interest in Him or a passing interest or a passing curiosity to someone who now loves, adores Jesus, devoted to Jesus.
And if you were to ask believers in this place, they would say something like this. My faith is still weak at times. I still lack understanding in so many areas, so many places, but what I know as a reality is a love for the Son of God that God has produced in my heart that does not let me go. And He will do the same for you. And no longer would Jesus be for you twice a year interest or just when you’re in trouble, but He becomes your life.
It’s only when you can say that to live is Christ, you’ll be able to say that death is what? What, church? Gain, ‘kerdos’, profit, profit. Death is gain, but only when you can say, Jesus is my life, and so I invite you this morning to make Jesus your life. The resurrected Jesus, He really is alive, and you can really know Him by God’s grace.
The gospel commands men and women everywhere to repent, that is to turn from life as you’ve known it, living in your sin, living in your alienation, in your estrangement from God. You repent, you turn from that life, and you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible gives us this promise that whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is saved. Would you believe this morning? Would you call out to the Son of God, the living Son of God, and ask Jesus to save you?
What a Savior He is. What a marvelous Savior He is. And how does the resurrection change everything? The transforming power of the resurrection? Well, turn to Hebrews 2. I love this portion of God's word, the implication of that day, the power, the transforming power of the resurrection. Easter changes everything. Chapter two, two verses that describe that for us, how the resurrection changed everything. Verses 14 and 15: "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."
Beloved, the resurrection changed people. The resurrection changed people from fearful slaves to fearless sons—fearful slaves to fearless sons. You see, this text tells us that Jesus took flesh, He became human so as to die for our sins in our place and then rise again and through His death destroy the greatest weapon and instrument of fear that Satan had—fear of death. Jesus broke the back of all false religion that used the fear of death to keep people enslaved. How? How did He do that? Answer: the power of the resurrection.
The power of the resurrection is freedom from the bondage to the fear of death—freedom. See what made Peter and John, Peter who denied Jesus, Peter who denied Jesus and these disciples who had fled, they shrank back cowardly and fled, what made those cowards such bold witnesses 50 days later before the Sanhedrin? What made them like lions, bold lions? Answer: the power of the resurrection.
Chapter and verse, Acts 4:33: "And with great power the apostles were bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." Wow. From fearful slaves to fearless sons. What gave Paul, someone who persecuted Christianity, such boldness to face all of his persecutions? Answer: 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." Fearful slaves had become fearless sons.
You see, this means in every generation in these 2,000 years plus, the same power that made those timid fishermen become unstoppable witnesses is present. It has been present, and the growing amount of time between today and the resurrection of Jesus, the date of Christ's resurrection, has not diminished that power, has not made it fade into a memory because it is omnipotent power. It's renewed and present in every generation.
The truth of the resurrection means this: everyone who embraces Jesus as Savior and King is delivered from the fear of death in two ways. First, if you know your sins are forgiven by the risen, exalted Christ, then you literally have living proof that you're forgiven and that your physical death will not be the end of you. That's why Paul says this: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." And when losing your life is no longer the greatest threat, the greatest fear—ah, beloved, you are an awesome weapon in the hand of God. You are an awesome weapon in the hand of God.
In fact, Revelation 12 describes how Satan is defeated. In verse 11, we read, "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death." You can't stop a group of people like this. That's the first way. The power of the resurrection delivers you from the fear of your physical death because you know your sins are forgiven. And if you die, blessed be God, it's gain. I'm gonna be with Jesus. It's not the end. It's simply continuation, but amplified continuation of intimate, perfect communion with Jesus—communion now perfected.
But there's a second way the power of the resurrection works. Christians who embrace Christ are not only not afraid of physical death—not only we're not afraid of our physical death—they are not afraid of personal death to a worldly life. Let that grip you. We're not only not afraid of our physical death, but we're not afraid of personal death to a worldly life. In other words, we're not afraid of losing life.
Let me explain. You see, when you're a slave to this life, all that matters is that you gather up the experiences of this world as quickly as you can, as much of it as you can. You know, life is short. I gotta live it up. You must get what this world has: riches and children and marriage and family and fame and achievement, promotion, success and status and possessions and love and sexual pleasure and power and other pleasures. And you must get it. You must get it all. You must get it and you must get the money so you can get it. And you must get it while you still have time—ideally, while you're still in your youth and health and you still have years. And what is that, if that's all you live for? Slavery. Slavery.
Paul says, when you become a Christian, God crucifies the old life in you. He puts the resurrection, eternal life of His own Son into you by His Spirit. And you know that new life is not an earthworm life burrowing through this world, scavenging this dying world for crumbs. You know what it is? Colossians 3:1, this new life: "If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above." This is where your mind is set as you live here and now. You live here in the light of there. You live now in the light of then. Your mind is set on the things of above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
When you have new life, Romans 6 says, that we were buried with Him through baptism—through immersion—into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in what? “newness of life." That's what He puts into you.
And 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, "And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." And Galatians 2:20, Paul says those words: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
You see, beloved, in fact, it's everywhere in Scripture, cover to cover. Believers are those who get new life, God's life. And believers are able to experience a continual death to the world, to a worldly life, to a selfish, self-centered life, to a life lived only for this life. And why can they do that? Because of the power of the resurrection.
The power of the resurrection says, die to that life and you'll really live. Try to have the old life, try to grab at that life, and you will experience a living death. That's why the most repeated words of Jesus in all of Scripture—six times repeated—"Whoever desires to save his life in this world will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." The power of the resurrection.
You see, if I'm not only unafraid of my physical death, but if I am unafraid of dying to what the world tells me, what life is really about, then nothing can stop me from sharing this message of life and light and love with the dying world. I am the freest soul on earth. Free from the fear of death and free from the fear of missing out. Free from being chained to my own appetites and low earthly desires, I am the freest person in the world.
Now, unleash an army of these people in every generation with the power of the resurrection. And you know what you end up doing? You turn the world upside down. You change the world. Because these people are living embodiments of the power of the resurrection. 2 Corinthians 4:10: "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." The resurrection changed the world. But it didn't change it in the abstract. It didn't change it by accident. It changed it because it changed slaves, fearful slaves, into fearless sons.
Easter's not just a nice Christian holiday. It's quite simply the most important day in human history. But then it has to go deeper than that. It has to go deeper than simply acknowledging that. Have you been delivered from the fear of death? I don't mean, are you blasé about death? None of us is. I don't mean, well, I'm not trying to not think about it. No, no, is death still really an unthinkable thing to you? A deep unknown contemplated with momentary horror?
If that's you, then you need to come to Him who went there and back again. And then have you been delivered from the fear of losing life, the fear that life would slip away through your fingers if you give it to Jesus, that you won't know who you are anymore, that you won't be the person that you wanna be if you give your life to Jesus? If that's your fear, then let me say to you this morning, you've not yet experienced the power of the resurrection because when Christ is yours and you are His, you know the paradox from the inside out. You know that when you die to yourself, you really live. And when He takes your place and His life is your life, it's death—it's a death and a resurrection that you wanna have.
“You are giving up what you cannot keep and gaining what you cannot lose”, Jim Elliot. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must still come and embrace the risen Jesus as your King. I beg you, do it today. Today. Today is the day of salvation. Receive the risen King as the end of your old life and the beginning of the new one. That's how you go from being a fearful slave to a fearless son or daughter. Be free from the fear of death and let the power of the resurrection transform you as it transformed those first disciples.
Let's pray.
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