The Power Of the Resurrection

Luke 24


The women were going to the tomb to take care of the dead body of Jesus. This was a custom.

In Isaiah 53.9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
The rich men (Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus) went and asked for the body of Jesus from Pilate. Those who had money buried their loved ones with extra care. If you go to Oakwood Cemetery you can see the mausoleum’s- the burial place of the rich. The rich had tombs in Israel, the wealthy in Jerusalem. For burial they covered the body with spices and in paste, and these were tied to the body by layers of white roller bandages. The paste hardened and impregnated the bandages until a hard preservative mold or cocoon was formed. A cap was placed on the head, and often the jaw was held in position by a bandage under the chin. This is why when the disciples saw it they wondered and John believed. They were looking at this empty form without a body. It had not been disturbed because Jesus’s body passed through it like He did when he came through the locked doors of the upper room that night. When they got to the tomb it looked like Jesus was still lying there until they looked and there was no head and the cap was set off by itself. On further investigation there was no body.
John 20.3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

These women were going to a dead body, or so they thought. Look what is in their hands. They had spices they had prepared to put around the body of our LORD. What is in your hands? God asked Moses that question once. Few people fret when they are holding God’s Word in their hands. It is when we take what doesn’t belong in our hands and put it there that we worry and fret. When we take problems from God’s Hands into our hands we fall apart inside.

Our hands give us away They had the goods that they believed Jesus was dead. What is in your hands. Emma and I walked over to feed the cat next door Friday evening- her hand was in my hand. New territory for her and she liked the security.

What is in your mind? These followers of Jesus had a wide array of emotions from guilt, doubts, fears and terror and deep sorrow.

What is on our lips? They asked themselves “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” It was already rolled away. This wasn’t to let Jesus out. That little pebble in front of that tomb was not worth comparing at all with the Rock of Ages inside The stone was rolled away for the women to see in- to see He had risen. You see how foolish it is to worry about things Jesus told us about? Remember that quote by Nelson Bell, missionary doctor to China- Ruth Graham’s father? In May of 1929, he wrote to his mother, I found out here my big trouble is worrying about things the Lord is already working out for me.

What is in your heart? There was love in the hearts of those at the tomb of Jesus that first Easter and thank God He looks in our hearts They loved their LORD.
They came in contact with the power of the Resurrection- Jesus is alive
Blessed are those who see and believe - more blessed are those who do not see and believe!
The Resurrection means:


1. Power over Death

The grief we have in the loss of loved ones who knew Jesus-
I Thessalonians 4
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

The memories of the righteous are a blessing. The expectation of being together again is wonderful and brings encouragement and comfort to our hearts and minds. It is so amazing. We can ache and hurt deeply within and yet be filled with hope at the same time while grieving We do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. Edie’s family- John and Brother Hazard both went to heaven just hours before Easter. The scene at the cemetery...

The perspective we have in our mortality. We all will die if Jesus does not come in our life time.
But even facing death because of the Resurrection, we can have things - good things deep in our hearts John 14.19 Because I live, you also will live.

Peace

Joy

Expectation

2. Power for Living

Christ lives within Galatians 2.20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

His Spirit Romans 8.11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you

Jesus give us victory of a life of sin and defeat. We know the Way because He is the Way We have direction and purpose in living if He is in our hearts We have the power to overcome the world, our own flesh and the devil because of the resurrection. Jesus Christ is alive and we share in His resurrection power.

3. Strength for Today

If you look closely at the armor of God (Ephesians 6) it is for standing firm. Jesus rose again so we can stand firm until the end. He promised to be with us always right up to the end of the age.

We are not to worry about tomorrow- each day has enough trouble of its own we are told by Jesus. Through prayer and His Word and the Presence of His Spirit, the fellowship of other believers, songs and hymns, He strengthens us!


4.Hope for Tomorrow

Because He Lives II Corinthians 4.13 It is written: I believed; therefore I have spoken. With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence

Look at those two we read about this morning: we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel Luke 24.21 These men had lost their hope. It is always when the circumstances of life are paid more attention to than the LORD of glory that followers of Jesus lose their hope. He gives us hope for tomorrow

5.Eternity With Jesus

Of course there is an eternal part of the resurrection- I Corinthians 15.1-19
There is a difference between someone being raised from the dead and their spirit returning to their own body and the resurrection. The resurrected body will be one that never dies. All those whom Jesus raised from the dead died eventually. Otherwise there would be people living today that were 2,000 years old

The resurrected body will be different. It will not be subject to the penalty of sin. There will be no more death or decay. No aging, no sickness, no more pain It will be like Jesus’ resurrected body. It is forever!

We believe that Jesus died and rose again

We believe we serve a risen Savior

We have His Spirit with in us

One day He will come for us