He is Not Here, He is Risen

The scripture reading for this morning is taken from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

I will be reading verses 1 through 12, and I'd encourage you to turn there as we read this story from Luke's Gospel of the Resurrection.

You can find it on page 884 in the Bible in the pew in front of you if you don't have a Bible with you.

And I do want to encourage you, and every week we have an opportunity to give away Bibles.

And so if you don't own a Bible or you don't have ready access to one, please take that one home with you.

Following the service this morning, we'd love for you to have it, read it, and study it, bring it back each week, and we'll study it together.

And so I encourage you to do that.

Luke chapter 24, beginning in verse 1.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here, but is risen.

Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and on the third day rise.

And they remembered his words, and returned from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to the rest.

Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women who with them who told these things to the apostles.

But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in.

He saw the linen claws by themselves, and he went home marveling at what had happened.

What's the big deal?

What's the importance of the resurrection?

Why is it so significant?

Why is it central to the Christian faith?

What difference does it make if Jesus really rose from the dead?

In other words, so what?

We may believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but only have a vague notion of why Jesus rose from the dead.

What is the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus and what does it mean for us?

One author shares this testimony.

In the spring of my senior year in college, I was deeply immersed in the rhythms of the Christian life.

I was a leader in inner varsity, participated regularly in Bible study with other seminary-bound friends, and read more than my fair share of extracurricular Christian books.

As Easter approached, I began rehearsing the importance of Jesus' resurrection.

I knew that for Paul and the other New Testament writers, there could be no Christianity without it.

Yet one day, as I was walking back to my dorm, it dawned on me that the gospel as I understood it had no need for Jesus to be raised from the dead.

The story of salvation, as I had learned it, in its entirety, was about the cross.

We may distinguish the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but we should never separate them.

They're indissolubly linked.

In other words, we may distinguish between the two aspects of Christ's saving work and his death and resurrection, but we should not separate them.

The resurrection is an indispensable part of the gospel and vital to our understanding of the work of Jesus.

This morning I would like us to consider four provisions secured through the resurrection of Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus secures reconciliation for the rejected.

The resurrection of Jesus gives power to the powerless.

The resurrection of Jesus offers hope for the hopeless.

And the resurrection of Jesus promises joy for the sorrowful.

The first provision, the resurrection of Jesus, secures reconciliation for the rejected.

The story of redemption is a story of sin and alienation.

Our first parents turned away from God and brought guilt and judgment upon the whole human race.

We're aliens and strangers, alienated from God, from ourself, and from others.

Isaiah 59, 2 says this.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

You see, because God is perfectly holy and just, our sin must be dealt with.

We rightly deserve to stand before God and give an account for everything we've done, every wrong act or deed, every thought, attitude, and action in our lives, to stand before our holy God and face the just consequences for our sins.

But out of the Father's great love, he sent his Son to take upon Himself human nature and live his life as a man.

Jesus was our representative who came to stand in our place, suffer and die on our behalf, and rise from the dead for our justification.

This morning I'd like for us to consider two concepts that may not be very familiar with us, or they may be foreign to our thinking, but they're central to our understanding of the resurrection.

These concepts are representation and imputation.

And I'll explain how both of these fit into the resurrection.

Representation means that someone has the legal right to stand in our place and act on our behalf.

If I have the power of attorney, for instance, in those areas where I have been given authority, I can act on behalf of another, and it is as if the person himself has made that decision.

We understand the concept of representation in relationship to government.

We elect officials and they're supposed to make decisions on our behalf.

Their decisions are in effect our decisions, and what they decide is binding upon us.

If the president of the United States declares war, we have gone to war.

Because he, as our representative, makes a decision that affects all of us.

So when our first father Adam sinned, it is as if we sinned in him because he was our legal representative or federal head.

Therefore, we became guilty because of our identification with Adam.

We also inherit his nature so that we have a disposition to sin and rebel against God.

In the same way, we're united with Christ in his death and resurrection as our representative.

Imputation carries the idea of something being credited to our account.

That could be something good or something bad, but the idea of something being credited to our account.

Because of this legal union, Jesus acted on our behalf, both in his life as well as in his death and resurrection.

Let me give you an example.

Suppose as a college student, I'm away at school and I am absolutely broke.

I know you college students can't relate to that.

But just uh just imagine that you're in college, I'm in college, I'm absolutely broke.

I have no money in the bank.

And now my parents hear about it.

They hear this that I'm broke, I'm destitute, I have no money in the bank, I can't even do my laundry.

And so my parents who who have some money in the bank, they hear about my struggles and they take money and they go to the bank and they place the money in my account.

Now, uh they they put a thousand dollars in my bank account.

Now, all you college students wish that would happen to you.

Um it never happened to me, by the way, but just so you put all this money, they put all this money in the bank.

Now, I didn't earn that money.

I I did nothing to work for that money.

But now it's in my savings account, and I could consider it my own.

It was credited to my account.

This is the idea of imputation.

In Romans chapter 4, the Apostle Paul talks about David and Abraham and us, and he tells us that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Now, if you have your Bibles, turn to Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

We're gonna spend some time in Romans for the next few minutes.

Romans chapter 4, verses 23 through 25.

Romans 4:23–25

Paul in this chapter had talked about David and Abraham, and he gives an extended discussion of the faith of Abraham, and then picking up in verse 23, talking about the about Abraham, uh, it says this, but the words that was counted to him as righteousness were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.

In the Old Testament, it said that Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him or credited to him as righteousness.

And so Paul here says it was not written just and his account for his sake alone, but for ours also, verse 24.

It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead, Jesus our Lord, who was delivered for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

In these chapters, the Apostle Paul teaches this profound truth, this reality of a double transaction that happened because of Christ's life and death and resurrection.

What Paul teaches us, what the Bible says, is that all of the guilt for our sin was imputed, was credited to Jesus on the cross.

And so that the punishment that we deserve was placed upon Christ.

And in addition to that, his perfect righteousness, the righteousness of his sinless life in full obedience to God, was credited to our account.

Because of this, we are forever forgiven and completely accepted by the Father.

The punishment, the penalty for our sins for all those who have placed their faith in Christ, has been credited to Jesus in that he took it upon himself on the cross.

And we receive his righteousness.

We're clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

And Paul here ties this to the resurrection.

He says, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

So what we find here is what Jesus did.

And the question may come, well, how do we know this is true?

How can we be sure about this?

And Paul answers, because of the resurrection.

Because God approved of Jesus, we know that God approved of us on our behalf that Christ died.

God's approval of Jesus was God's approval of us.

God's acceptance of Jesus is God's acceptance of us because we are in Christ.

Jesus' resurrection secures and demonstrates that we have been declared not guilty, have been forgiven, and stand in right relationship with God, justified.

The first provision of the resurrection is reconciliation for the rejected.

Now we look at a second provision.

The second provision, the resurrection of Jesus gives power for the powerless.

We are weak, sinful people in desperate need of change.

For all of those who have been reconciled to God, for everyone who has come to faith in God, God has set a goal for us to be like Jesus.

He has set a goal to change us from the inside out.

He wants to begin changing our attitudes and our thoughts and our emotions, our responses and our actions, our relationships.

He wants to transform us so that every day we are becoming more and more like his son.

Well, how does the resurrection provide the power to change?

If you're in Romans, I want you to look ahead a couple chapters to Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Because Paul ties together this transformation with the resurrection.

Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1, this is what Paul says.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

By no means.

How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like him.

We know that our old self was crucified with him, that in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

For the one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion over him.

For the death he died, he died to sin once for all.

But the life he lives, he lives to God.

How do we know?

How do we know that we can change?

The Bible says that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins so that we are forgiven, that we stand in right relationship before God, that we are forgiven forever, that we know that when we die, we're going to heaven.

And for everyone who has placed his faith in Christ alone, that's the promise that God gives.

But God says he wants to transform our lives here and now.

How do we know that can happen?

Well, Paul says we know that it can happen because of the resurrection.

He ties our power for living directly with Jesus' resurrection.

There's a lot here in these 10 verses, more than we could possibly go over even in a morning, just focusing on them.

But what Paul says is that every believer has been united with Christ in his death and resurrection.

And we've already talked about our legal union with Christ as our representative, that we are in Christ.

That he took our punishment and he gave us his righteousness.

But there's another aspect to our union with Christ that we need to consider.

And that is when we became a Christian, when we bowed our heads and our hearts to Lord Jesus, we were united with Christ in a vital union.

In other words, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has come and taken residence in us.

The Bible tells us that Christ is in you through the person of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, if you look in Romans a couple more chapters in Romans chapter 8, verses 10 and 11, Paul writes this.

Romans 8:10

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you.

Did you catch what Paul said here?

He says, the same resurrection power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you to live a new life.

Because Christ is risen and ascended, because he has sent his spirit.

His spirit is living in you and giving you the power for living.

The resurrection power of Christ is available to you, and Christ, through his spirit, is living in you.

Now we know that we've been made genuinely new.

The Bible tells us that, but we're not totally new.

We still struggle with indwelling sin that's a part of us.

We still live in this fallen world.

Sometimes it can seem overwhelming and defeated.

And the resurrection gives an answer to that.

The resurrection gives us reconciliation for the rejected.

The resurrection is power for the powerless.

But we find a third provision in the New Testament.

The resurrection is Jesus' offer of hope for the hopeless.

The resurrection teaches us that because of Jesus, everything will be made new.

The Bible describes this longing that we have and the rest of creation has.

If you're in Romans, I want you to look down a few more verses to Romans 8, 19 and see how Paul ties the resurrection to the new creation.

Look in verse, beginning in verse 19.

Verse 18, Romans chapter 8, verse 18.

Romans 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved.

Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he has seen?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

I read a children's storybook Bible to my kids many nights, and uh it's really a well-written uh storybook.

In fact, I've recommended it for adults as well, just to read.

It's poetically done, and it describes in just beautiful ways some of the deep truths of scriptures in a way that a child can understand.

And I want to read just one excerpt of how it explains what Paul talks about here in Romans.

And this is what it says.

It's by Sally Lloyd Jones, the Jesus Storybook Bible.

And it says this it says, it's the secret rescue plan.

It's the secret rescue plan we made.

From before the beginning of the world, it's the only way you get back.

But he won't stay dead.

I will make him alive again.

And one day, when he comes back to rule forever, the mountains and trees will dance and sing for joy.

The earth will shout out loud.

His fame will fill the whole earth and all as the waters cover the sea.

Everything sad will come untrue.

Even death is going to die, and he will wipe away every tear from every eye.

Yes, the rescuer will come.

Look for him, watch for him, wait for him.

He will come, I promise.

The resurrection of Jesus not only secures and confirms our record resurrection, but it is also the basis for our hopefulness.

That one day God will make all things new.

Paul likens it to childbirth.

Three of my closest friends are expecting babies in the next few months.

And I've been told, but thankfully we'll never experience how painful childbirth can be.

And in fact, I was just talking to a friend of mine recently and talking about this.

And one of the things that strikes me is once the baby arrives, all of that pain is over and quickly recedes and is forgotten.

Because the joy of that baby is a present reality.

And the Apostle Paul here says that's what we are dealing with now.

We struggle with indwelling sin.

We live in this fallen world.

We live with sin and sickness and sadness and death.

We see all around us the pain and the misery of the consequences of sin, of our own and others, and how it's affected this world.

And we long for a change.

And one day that change will come.

One day Jesus will return, and it will be the beginning of the undoing of everything.

We will have glorified bodies, and one day God will make a new heaven and a new earth.

And we know that because of the resurrection.

We can look at the cross and the death and the resurrection of Christ and see the victory that He secured for us is the victory that He secured that one day will transform everything.

We've considered three provisions of the resurrection: reconciliation for the rejected, power for the powerless, hope for the hopeless.

In our final minutes, let us consider one more provision.

The fourth provision, the resurrection of Jesus, promises joy for the sorrowful.

The resurrection gives us hope for today, hope for eternity, but also hope for when we die.

No one likes to think about death.

It's something that we avoid as much as we can.

We don't like the reality of the specter of death.

We don't like to consider dying.

I've had several friends over the years who have died.

And I know even here in this congregation, many people are facing life-threatening, even terminal illnesses.

So what is our hope?

What is the hope that we have?

The Bible tells us that death is still our enemy.

The Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 20 through through 26, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:20

But each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Then comes the end when he will del when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Listen to what Paul says there.

We know that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he was the first fruits of the resurrection.

Because he lives, we know we're forgiven.

Because he lives, we know we're forgiven and accepted.

Because he lives, we know that he is with us and he gives us power for living.

And because he lives, we know that one day we will be raised from the dead and live with him forever.

But right now, death is still our enemy.

The Bible says it's a defeated foe, but it has not been destroyed yet.

Death could not hold Jesus.

God raised him up, loosening the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

It says in Acts chapter 2, Paul or Peter on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Death could not hold Jesus.

And Hebrews tells us that at this present time that we still wait.

It says this in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 8.

Hebrews 2:8

It says, Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside of his control.

At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.

The sting of death has been removed.

The power of death has been broken.

And one day, death itself will be destroyed.

And we know that because death was defeated in the resurrection.

How do we know this?

We know this because he is risen.

Let me conclude with a quote from J.R.

Daniel Kirk, Associate Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary.

He writes this.

In Flannery O'Connor's short story, A Good Man is hard to find, the misfit explains the world-shattering significance of Jesus' resurrection.

He throws everything off balance.

If he did what he said, then it's nothing for you to do.

There's nothing for you to do but throw your, throw away everything and follow him.

But if he didn't, then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you've got left the best way you can.

With these words, O'Connor declared in concert with the New Testament writers that the resurrection is everything.

Its truth or falsity determines whether the world has been irrevocably shaken by Easter Sunday, or whether instead God has left Jesus, us, and the entire created order unanswered in our cries for salvation.

No less than this is at stake in our affirmation that Jesus is raised from the dead.

Let us pray.

Father, as we gather here this morning, we recognize that the resurrection is everything.

The resurrection is our hope for today.

Our hope that we've been forgiven for our sins.

The resurrection is our hope that we have acceptance.

It's our confidence in our acceptance.

The resurrection is our confidence that you are living with us now and giving us power for living.

The resurrection is our hope that one day we will be raised from the dead and live with you forever in a recreated heaven and earth.

We have this hope because we know that He is risen.

That He is risen indeed.

May we recognize the centrality of the resurrection to our faith.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.