JESUS IS ALIVE

#741                                                                        JESUS IS ALIVE                                                                                               

Scripture  Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:5f; John 20:1f

                                                                                                                                                                               Date 4/13/1979

Passage:

Matthew 28:6: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Mark 16:6:           “Don't be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

Luke 24:5f:          And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

John 20:1:            The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Timeline/Series:               Easter

Introduction

                If you, as a schoolboy, remember reading Cervantes’ story “Don Quixote,” you will recall that part of the fun of the book was in his strong imagination.  He went out pretending to be a courageous knight.  He fought windmills, satisfied that they were giants.  He drove herds of sheep askew, believing them to be enemies of the kingdom.

                Good sense and timing dictate that I should be to you, what I am.  You do not need another pretender.  I will speak about that which I best know, and my conscience leads me to believe that it is what you most need.

                The gospel narrative wastes no words in dealing with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and no more worthy subject could be claimed for this occasion.  Since we get caught up more in the crucifixion scene, I will claim the scene of resurrection for these moments.

                While all of the gospels write about a single theme, they are not simple copies of each other.  They emphasize different things out of the life of Jesus.  They single out separate events that may speak more to what they want to say.  Certain parts of the story are so important that each of these writers declares its integrity.  This is the case of the resurrection.

• Matthew 28:6: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay
• Mark 16:6:           “Don't be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”
• Luke 24:5f:          And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
• John 20:1:            The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

                Then there were those to whom Jesus appeared: Mary Magdalene, John 20:16; the other women, Matthew 28:9; Emmaus disciples, Luke 24:13f; Disciples Mark, Luke, John, and Thomas, John 20:26f; seven at seaside, John 21:1.

I.             This is So Important Because We Make So Much Over the Death of Jesus:  Jesus Christ, Superstar; The Late Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey; Jesus of Nazareth. 

                Good Friday has more appeal.  It may be for some of the same reason that  Thomas felt it necessary to touch the living Jesus before he would believe.  Without us Jesus couldn’t make it!!!?

                We’ve done our bit for poor Jesus.  More here than at the sunrise service. 

                The Turin Shroud as told in The Silent Witness.  More a case for His death than for His life.  Satisfies a human propensity for physical evidence.

II.            Of Much Greater Importance is the Reality that Christ is Alive. 

                There will always be those who want to intellectualize faith to satisfy human ideals.  1978 Act of God, Charles Templeton—a novel of the discovery of Jesus’ body and the effort of the church to hide this from the public; a few years ago, The Passover Plot; liberal theologians—Bultmann stated “A historical fact which involves a resurrection from the dead is utterly impossible.”

III.           The Early Believers did not Say that Jesus was Spiritually Alive, but that He was Resurrected from the Dead. 

                These are not all the same.  Many Jews already believed in life after death.  Jesus died, albeit horribly, for the sins of people such as we; but what is important is that death did not have power over  Him, but rather He over death.

                There are three very significant reasons why this bodily resurrection is so important.

• It establishes unquestionably, the verdict of Holy God, upon the life (obedience) of Jesus.  Acts 3:26 “Unto  you first God, having raised up His son Jesus, sent  Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”  Romans 1:4 “And declare to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”  The disciples then and now, by the way, had to have absolute evidence that Jesus was not just another flash in the pan.
• It gave absolute credence to the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross.  Romans 8:11 “But if the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit.”  II Peter 2:24 “Who in His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.”  I Corinthians 15:17 “If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.”
• There is a third reason. It means that death is a state of being enhanced through our faith in Jesus.  Greek immortality was a state much better than cessation of being, but how much??? The resurrection proclaims that a Christ is alive, so, in Him, are we.  There is total transformation of the whole person in a new and better life.

Conclusion

                From an  unknown source*:

“I saw the conquerors riding by, With cruel lips and faces wan.

Musing of kingdoms sacked and burned, There rode the Mongol, Genghis Khan;

And Alexander like a God, Who sought to weld the world in one;

And Caesar with his laurel wreath; And like a thing from Hell, the Hun;

And leading like a star the van, Heedless of outstretched arm and groan.

Inscrutable Napoleon went, Dreaming of empire and alone.

Then all they perished from the earth As fleeting shadows from a glass,

And conquering down the centuries Came Christ the swordless on an ass.”

                Jesus came to die to live; to die for your sins and mine that we might live in Him.

                John Michener captures somewhat of the essence of faith in The Source. Zadok the righteous (Abraham) hears El-Shaddai—“As long as you live old man, you will be free to ignore my commands.  But in time I will grow impatient and will speak to others as I have spoken to Epher.”

                The call of God had been to serve Him in the city.  “My home is the desert,” Zadok said in self-justification, “and I was afraid to leave.”

                “I waited,” El-Shaddai said, “because I knew that if you did not love your home in the desert you would not love me either.  I am glad that you are now ready.”

*Harry Kemp