Title: He Is Risen (Luke 24:1)
The Bible that tells the life of Christ we call the Gospels.
These Gospels are called the Four Gospels because there are four. Each Gospel has a different beginning.
The Gospel of Matthew, which presents Christ as the King of the Jews, begins with the genealogy of the Jewish royal family. The Gospel of Mark, which shows him as a servant, omits the genealogy and begins with his ministry. Because species have no genealogy. Luke, who portrayed him as a human, traces his genealogy back to Adam, the father of mankind. However, the Gospel of John, which testifies to the divinity of Jesus Christ, starts from the Word that already existed in the beginning. From the very beginning, the Gospel of John exudes the universal and divine character of this Gospel.
But all of these four Gospels agree in closing with the account of the Resurrection.
Because the resurrection is the conclusion of the gospel and the completion of salvation. So the last chapters of the Gospels are all Easter chapters.
Our text today, Luke 24, is also the Easter chapter.
There were women who visited Jesus' tomb early in the morning on the first day after the Sabbath.
According to the Gospel of Mark, these women were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joseph, and Salome (Mark 15:40), and it is presumed that there were several others.
“These were those who followed and ministered to Jesus while he was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had gone up with him to Jerusalem” (Mark 15:41).
These are the people who watched the end of Jesus to the end.
These are the people who witnessed Jesus being betrayed by his beloved disciples, tortured by the Pharisees, scribes, priests, and elders, and eventually sentenced to death in the name of Pilate and nailed to a cross. They even went to the tomb of Jesus.
“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed and, seeing the tomb and how his body was laid, returned and prepared spices and perfumes” (Luke 23:55).
They were the first group of people who visited the tomb of Jesus early in the morning after the Sabbath. When these women came to Jesus' tomb, something amazing happened. It means that the body of Jesus is gone.
“The body of the Lord Jesus was not found” (3).
The women had no way to contain their empty hearts.
Another concern made them weep.
Just then, two angels appeared before the tomb and said to the lovers.
"The women were afraid and put their faces to the ground, but the two said, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."
On this meaningful morning of resurrection, we want to share in God's grace through the witness of this angel.
(1) The resurrection of Jesus shows that only God is the ultimate victor.
From the time Jesus was born, Satan tried to kill Jesus by all means and methods. Satan also persuaded Herod to kill the baby Jesus, killing all the boys in Bethlehem under the age of two (Matthew 2:16).
When Jesus tried to engage in the ministry of his public life, Satan tried again, but failed (Matthew 4:1-11).
When all these plans failed, Judas Iscariot, now one of Jesus' disciples, betrayed the teacher (John 13:27). In addition, he used the Sadducees, the high priests and the scribes, Pharisees who boasted of faith and zeal at the time to incite the people with lies and deceit (Mark 15:11, Matthew 27:10). In addition, Satan threatened Pilate to have Jesus crucified and killed (John 19:12). To confirm that he was dead, he had his side pierced with a spear, and after the body was buried in the tomb, the door was sealed with a stone and sealed, and soldiers were made to guard the tomb. Satan must have smiled when he thought that the situation was over, but God was not just looking at this injustice.
He did not allow untruth to trample the truth. The tightly closed stone door could not prevent the resurrection, and the soldiers guarding the tomb were only trembling in fear before God's power. Truly, it is the victory of God and the victory of justice.
The resurrection of Jesus showed that only God is the ultimate victor and perfecter. Matter does not conquer the soul, time does not sever the soul, and finiteness swallows up the infinity. Creatures cannot escape the sovereignty of the Creator, and humans cannot overcome God, and death is just powerless in the face of God's power.
Satan and all men tried to kill Jesus, but they could not overcome the Lord of Life. All powers buried Jesus in the tomb, but Jesus did not rot in the tomb. Blood does not deviate from the sovereignty of the Creator, humans cannot overcome God, and death is just powerless within the power of God.
Satan and all men tried to kill Jesus, but they could not overcome the Lord of Life. All creation could not resist God. All powers buried Jesus in the tomb, but Jesus did not rot in the tomb.
Nietzsche said that God is dead.
He found God in the grave. I found God among the dead. They were looking for God in the invoices. But the Lord, the resurrection and the life, was not there.
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
These words testify that only God is the ultimate victor.
The resurrection of Jesus reveals that it is the victory of God.
(2) The resurrection of Jesus testifies to the victory of life.
"He is not here, he is risen."
Jesus' body is not in the tomb in Joseph's garden. This shows that death is not the end of life, but that there is a new life after death.
"If there were no resurrection of the dead, neither Christ would be raised" (1 Corinthians 15:13).
“But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
The firstfruits here have an important meaning.
Because Jesus said that you can know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:16,20). You can't get grapes from thorns, and you can't get figs from thistles.
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18).
But, Paul said, Jesus Christ was the firstfruits of the resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus is the first fruit that showed that all who died in Jesus would be resurrected like Jesus.
Dear saints, we believe that we will be resurrected like Jesus, who is the first fruit of resurrection.
All people fear death.
There are times when I become cowardly not to die, sometimes betray my friends, and there is nothing I can’t do so as not to die. I'll do anything to save my life. Because I am afraid of death. But Jesus, the Lord of life, taught this before his death.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).
Because the resurrection of Jesus is the victory of life.
Dear saints, let's hear the testimony of our angels again.
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”
This means that Jesus was not in the tomb.
More precisely, the tomb of Jesus was empty.
Because Jesus is the Lord of life.
Nowhere in the Bible does there appear to be a funeral record of Jesus.
He often went to funerals, but every time something great happened. He spared the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and spared the son of the widow of Nain. He also had been dead for four days and called Lazarus, who smelled rancid, "Come out, Lazarus," so that death could no longer hold him.
“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 1:25).
God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living (Matthew 22:32).
Jesus is the Lord who holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18).
This Jesus overcame the authority of death and was resurrected.
This proves the eternal victory of life.
May you receive the gift of eternal life on this morning of the Resurrection.
(3) The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate victory of the kingdom of God.
We need to recall what the Risen Lord commanded to be Magmagg.
"Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me; therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. I will always be with you, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:28-20).
There are three lessons in this great command.
First, the risen Lord has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me..."
Heaven is the place where angels and saved saints are. The earth is where the saints who will be saved in the future live. The resurrected Lord has been given all these powers.
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).
Jesus was born in a manger in a lowly human body. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, dying on a cross.
“Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:9,10). God gave Jesus all authority in heaven and on earth.
Second, the risen Lord commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. He commanded us to make disciples of all nations, baptize and teach. God has established our church here to fulfill this command. There is nothing the church is supposed to do that takes precedence. Therefore, if the church neglects or neglects this work, it is a great sin against Jesus.
Our church is doing its best to spread the gospel to the whole church now.
By the way, are none of you doing nothing?
I was training in war simulation in the army. But the commander's jeep fell into a pit of mud. The commander summoned several soldiers standing nearby and asked for help.
One of them said, "I'm sorry, but we're classified as dead, so we can't go and help."
"Private," go and bring some of the corpses over there and put them under the wheel so they don't fall any further."
Brothers and sisters, in fact, how many members of the church are living and wishing that their deaths would remain
The Apostle Paul said woe to them if they do not preach the gospel.
May you receive the blessing of shining like a star by leading many people on the path of life.
Third, the risen Lord promised that He would always be with us until the end of the world. To whom is this a promise? To him who carries out this great command, I will always be with you until the end of the world
May you receive this blessing promised by the Lord of Resurrection on this morning of the resurrection.
On this morning of resurrection, do what the Lord of the Resurrection has commanded you.
The resurrection of Jesus is the victory of God.
The resurrection of Jesus is the victory of life.
The resurrection of Jesus is the victory of the kingdom of God.
May this grace and blessing overflow to you. Amen.