The Resurrection of The Christ

I Cor. 15:1-4

If the crucifixion is the heart of the Christian faith, then the resurrection is the very life of it.
If it had not been for the resurrection Christianity would have died before it ever got started, and none of us would be here this morning.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is mentioned about 120 times in the New Testament
It was foretold by the prophets,
believed and preached by the apostles,
even to the point of suffering and dying for what they believed.

The resurrection of the Christ is the hope of the Believer, and the basis of our faith.
We do not come here to honor a dead martyr, but the living Lord.
No other Christian doctrine has had the effect on the world in general, and Believers in particular than the resurrection.

This makes the Christian faith unique among all the religions of the world. None of the worlds religions has a living founder.
Mohammad is dead, Buddha is dead, Joseph Smith is dead, Charles Taze Russell is dead,...but Jesus Christ is alive and this is proven by eyewitness accounts and many infallible proofs,

Acts 1:1-4.

THE EVIDENCES OF THE RESURRECTION
The Witnesses
When Jesus’ followers went to the tomb on that first Easter morning, they found the stone rolled back and the body was gone
They weren’t going there to welcome the risen Savior, but to finished preparing the body for a proper burial.
To believe that a small band of scared Jewish men and women could somehow overcome the Roman soldiers, roll back the stone, and remove the body of Jesus is completely illogical.
If they had just started teaching and preaching the resurrection, the enemies of Jesus knew the location of the tomb and they would have wasted no time in producing the body for all to see.
Also, it is evident that the disciples were not a bunch of gullible, starry eyed fanatics willing to believe anything Jn 20:9, 11-15, 25
At first they were disbelieving and slow to catch on and remember Jesus’ own words.
They doubted so we wouldn’t have to.

By the way, The stone wasn’t rolled back to let Jesus out, but to let the disciples in so they could see first hand that it was empty.

The Change in the Disciples
There was then the dramatic change in the disciple’s attitude. Their sorrow and cowardice was changed into joy, bravery, and faith.
They went from disbelieving the resurrection to preaching it even in the face of suffering and death.
If the resurrection was not true they knew it, and it is impossible that 11 men would suffer and die for a lie.

The Change from the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Lord’s Day
These disciples were all Jewish men who had been taught all their lives to observe the 7th day as the Sabbath.
However, they began to observe the 1st day of the week as their day of rest and worship to commemorate the resurrection. The New Covenant supersedes the Old.

THE PURPOSE OF THE RESURRECTION
It Proves That God Keeps His Promises...Acts 13:32,33
Jesus said that He would die in Jerusalem at the hands of the religious rulers and government officials
He also said that He would rise again. We can believe His other promises such as: The Forgiveness if sins and His 2nd Coming and future judgment

It Established The Identity Of Jesus Christ...Rom. 1:4
For Jesus to make the claims He did leaves us with only three options concerning Him; lunatic, liar, or Lord.
There have been other lunatics and liars like Jim Jones, who led more than 900 of his followers to commit suicide, and David Koresh whose cult perished with him
Jesus is so much more than a human spiritual leader, He is the Son of God. Jesus made fantastic claims for Himself, but He backed them up with proofs.
Now, 1/3 of the world’s population claims to be followers of this man from Galilee.

It Furnishes Justification For Believers...Rom. 4:24,25
The basis of our salvation is not our baptism, church membership, nor our good moral behavior.
The basis upon which God forgives our sins is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That alone is the proof that God the Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as full payment for the penalty of sin.

It Assures Every Believer Of Their Own Personal
Resurrection...I Cor. 15:51-57; II Cor. 4:14
It is hard to say good bye to a loved one at a funeral, but if that person is a Believer too it is made so much easier by faith in Christ and His resurrection.
It eases the pain of parting if we know we’ll see them again because of the promise of the resurrection.
Jn 14:9...Because I live, ye shall live also.

It assures the future judgment of all...

Acts 17:11

The Crucifixion of The Christ

Matthew 27:33-37

In this series of sermons I have tried to hit all the high points of the birth, life, and ministry of Jesus Christ. Today we come to the real purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world which was to make an atonement for sin by His death on the cross.
Of all the doctrines of Jesus Christ the two most opposed by the world are His incarnation and His atonement. Not only are they opposed, they are also misunderstood.

People love to hear about the parables and Jesus’ miracles and acts of kindness, but speak of the incarnation and the death of Christ and the world reacts bitterly.
Many are offended by a “Merry Christmas” and are angered about the necessity of Christ’s death on the cross.
“I don’t see how the death of a Jew 2,000 years ago could possibly impact my life” they say.

As far back as the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:15-17 we learn that the penalty for sin involves death.
God has decreed that someone must bear it,...either the sinner or a Savior. God’s justice must be satisfied, and the cross is His vindication. Jesus was born to die.

The blood atonement of Jesus Christ is the very heart of the Christian faith
It is the only thing that answers the sin problem of mankind, and without it there is no ray of hope.

The death of Christ on the cross alone fulfills and answers the prophecies of the Old Testament: Isa. 53: 6-11; Dan. 9:26
Peter made this plain I his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2: 23.
In fact, the crucifixion was the central theme of the preaching of the apostles in the New Testament.
“Remission” means forgiveness; nothing more and certainly nothing less.

Atonement is an Old Testament word which means “a covering for sin” Lev. 17:11
“Atonement” is used 77 times in the OT, but only once in the NT in Rom. 5:11

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper He took the cup, gave thanks, and said, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins, Matt. 26:28.

It must be made plain and understood that the death of Christ was a voluntary and substitutionary atonement.
The Bible makes it plain that Jesus was not a victim of His circumstances and He was not a mere martyr dying for a cause.
He chose to take the place of sinners and pay our sin debt on the cross to satisfy the justice of God.
The innocent takes the place of the guilty before the legal bar of God.

Now we begin to see the meaning of “The love of God.”
Many stumble at this because of all the suffering in the world. “If God is a God of love, why is there so much suffering?” they ask. Why do we have wars, famines, disease, and death?
Those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand is bound up in the cross.
God’s love for us was settled once and for all by the cross of Calvary, that is where the love of God was demonstrated and purchased our deliverance.

There are many notable mounts in the Bible; such as Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the 10 commandmenst; Mt. Ararat, where Noah's ark came to rest after the flood; Mt. Carmel, where Elijah defeated the false prophets of Ba'al; and Mt. Moriah, where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, and where Solomon built the temple of God.

But without question the most notable is Mt. Calvary. Mt. Calvary was outside Jerusalem and an obscure, infamous place where criminals were executed.
It was relatively unknown and unlovely,...that is until Jesus went there.
His purpose for going there turned this awful place into a place that we now sing about; where Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me, there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

Now we sing and preach about Calvary because who went there and why.

What Happened At Calvary?

I. At Calvary, everyone in the world was offended, I Cor. 1:22-24; Gal. 5:11
People are fond of asking, “Why do I need Christ in my life? I’m as good as anyone else”
No, you are as bad as everyone else Rom. 3:10-12, 23
That church member, deacon, preachers are all sinners.

II. At Calvary, bad theology and false doctrines were
corrected, Rom. 5:8
- Universalism; all will be saved
- Many ways to God, Gal. 3:26
- The apostles were not persecuted for preaching the Purpose-Driven Life, Prosperity, etc.

III. At Calvary, the work of redemption was completed. Jn. 19:30…”It is finished!” (Literally, paid off)
We cannot earn or merit our own salvation by our good works and moral behavior because we cannot add anything to the finished work of Christ on the cross.
All we can do is receive it as a gift freely given by our faith in Christ, Rom. 6:23.

Now we see the importance of the crucifixion, and now that you know what will you do with Jesus Christ?