Sermon Central
-
The Reality Of The Resurrection Series
Contributed by Scott Kircher on Apr 9, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: Is the Resurrection believable and what does it matter?
The Reality of the Resurrection
The Resurrection is Evidenced by Facts
The Empty Tomb
The Tomb was Secured
The Disciples were Scared
The Effects on the Lives of the Disciples
The Resurrection is Essential to Living Life Eternal
The Resurrection is Essential to Living Life Now
Slide
Video – He is Risen
Good morning. Welcome to Hickory Creek.
I am so glad you are here. Especially, those of you that are perhaps visiting with us or don’t normally attend here. I want all of our time here this morning to truly be of benefit to each of us.
As we begin, I want to ask a question and I want you to think about it.
Why are you here? Not why are we on this earth. That is a sermon for another time.
But why are you sitting in this church this morning?
The answers might be varied.
This is where I am each Sunday.
My family came today and it is Easter so I came with them.
My friend invited me.
It is Easter and this is the first church that I found on the internet.
Yes, you are here because it is Easter, but Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ showing that He was truly God who became a man.
It is arguably the most significant day in Christianity, because Christianity is based on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If that didn’t happen, then Christianity is not true.
Considering that resurrection is so vital to Christianity, I want us today to examine the reality of the Resurrection and see if this is truly believable. I know many of us here accept that the resurrection happened on faith, because we haven’t ever seen a resurrection, but why should we believe it?
So this morning we are going to ask and seek to answer 2 questions.
Is the resurrection really believable?
And even if it is, what does it matter?
We are going to start with that first question.
Is the resurrection really believable?
Slide
This can be difficult to determine, considering it happened so long ago, so are there really any facts we can look at?
Well, the reality is, is that
The Resurrection is Evidenced by Facts
Slide
This morning, we are going to look at some of the facts that support the resurrection.
If you would turn with me this morning to Luke 24:1-8 (p. 748)
Slide
We are going to read what was recorded by Luke, who was a doctor and historian.
We find his record of Jesus’ life and death in the Gospel of Luke and
we see his record of the history of the early church in the book of Acts.
Luke was a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul and a contemporary of all the apostles, and this is what he records about the beginning of the third day after Jesus’ death.
Slide
24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7’The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’" 8 Then they remembered his words.
The first Fact we find is
The Empty Tomb
Slide
They went to the tomb where Jesus was laid, but “they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus”
“Big deal. So the tomb was empty. That doesn’t prove anything. Perhaps the body was moved or stolen”
Well, the fact that the tomb was empty actually is a big deal when we stop and consider
the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death and
the precautions taken to make sure that the tomb would not be empty.
We see in the passage we just read that Jesus had told people that he would rise again.
Now not everyone, including the apostles, understood what Jesus meant, but the Jewish Leaders did not want to take any chances concerning this, so listen to what it tells us in
Slide
The day “after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ’After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
