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He is risen.

Really?

Really.

I don't know about you,

but the people who have died that I know

have not come back from the dead.

People don't normally come back from the dead.

And that's the claim of your Bible.

That Jesus came back from the dead.

This morning, here's the case I'm going to make.

Either the resurrection of Jesus Christ happened

or it didn't.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ

is either the biggest con job

the world has ever known,

or the resurrection of Jesus Christ

is the greatest news the world could ever know.

He was either raised from the dead or He wasn't.

And this morning, I want to help you see

from the Bible, from the New Testament,

from Luke, who was a doctor,

Dr. Luke's account

of the resurrection of Jesus.

We're going to look at 12 verses

out of Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

It's the last chapter in the Gospel of Luke.

You've got Bibles in your pews.

And if you want to just start opening up your Bibles,

it goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

So what we're going to do this morning is this.

I want to help you see

what the New Testament actually says

about the resurrection of Jesus.

And then, I want to help you ask a question.

A question everyone must ask.

And then, I want to help you realize

what's riding on this stuff.

what's riding on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And then, we'll bring it home.

I'll ask the question, how do you respond?

So let's look at this biblical account,

the Gospel of Luke.

Here's how to think about your Gospels

in the New Testament.

Think of them as eyewitnesses' accounts

of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Take them at their word.

That's what they're claiming to be.

We have eyewitnesses writing the New Testament

saying this is what we saw.

This is what we experienced.

And so we're going to look at Luke 24, 1-12.

This is what Ben read just moments ago.

So if you're there,

let me draw your attention to some things.

In verses 1-3, we read about these ladies,

these women,

who early on that first Sunday

went to the tomb

and they brought spices with them.

And they were surprised.

Now there's a couple things I need to clarify real quick.

Notice that it's on Sunday,

not Saturday.

And so the reason for that is this.

On Friday, Jesus was crucified.

And on sundown, on Friday,

the Sabbath began.

And so they were preparing the body of Jesus for burial.

And so when sundown hit,

they could work no longer.

And so they had to wait out the Sabbath day,

which was Saturday.

And so first thing on Sunday,

they made their way back to the tomb

to finish preparing the body.

So that's what's going on here.

But there's something else

I want to draw your attention to.

They're not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,

Peter Cottondale,

hopping down the bunny trail.

They're not that.

They're sad.

Do you know why?

Because Jesus had been killed.

Their Savior, or so they thought,

their teacher, was dead.

They saw where His body was laid.

You can look back at Luke 23, verse 55.

Luke 23:55

They saw where the body of Jesus was laid.

And then they went home.

Which helps us understand,

they didn't get the wrong tomb

when they went back Sunday morning.

They knew where the tomb was.

But they were going there

to do something gruesome.

They were going there

to prepare Jesus' body.

How far along they got on that Friday

in preparing His body from burial,

we don't know.

But what we do know,

He was beat up.

His body would have had holes,

wrists, and in His feet,

and in His side.

He would have puncture wounds

all around His skull.

I don't know if His hair

kind of had that coagulated,

crusty blood in it still.

That's what they're going to.

His back would have been

a bloody mess.

The cat of nine tails,

which He was whipped with,

was a Roman device

that had stone,

pieces of metal,

in the nine lashes of the whip.

And it was designed

to tear a back open.

It would have been ugly.

What they were going to do

was gruesome.

They were sad.

And so early that Sunday morning,

they're making their way

to the tomb

to finish preparing His body.

And the stones rolled away.

It was like one to two tons.

Not light.

And so they're already like,

what is going on here?

And they walk in,

and what they find

is an empty tomb.

That's the claim.

That's the fact

non-Christians and Christians

need to deal with.

It's an empty tomb.

There's no body of Jesus.

So whether you're a Christian

or a non-Christian,

we're looking at the same fact.

No body.

The difference is

how you explain that.

How do you make sense

of the empty tomb?

And so what we see

in Luke chapter 24,

Luke 24:4

verses 4 and forward,

is the explanation

of the empty tomb.

In verses 4 through 8,

we see in this account

a movement.

In verse 4,

these ladies are really

not only sad,

but now they're perplexed.

They're confused.

In addition to their sadness,

where is the body

of our Lord Jesus?

Where is it?

And then if you look

in verse 5,

they were frightened

and they bowed their faces

to the ground.

Why?

Because there are two men

there now.

In dazzling appearance.

They were angels.

Announcing something.

That might remind you

of Luke 2

in Bethlehem.

The angels announcing

the birth of the Christ.

These angels were announcing

the resurrection

of the Christ.

You see,

all heaven

had been waiting

for this moment.

All heaven

had been seeing

the outworking

of these things.

There's been

eager excitement.

God sent

these angels

down

to tell

these ladies

that in fact,

Jesus has been

raised from the dead.

That's what they're

declaring.

They're like,

duh!

You're not going to find

the living among the dead!

He's not here.

He is risen.

And then if you look

at verse 6,

He's not here

but He's risen.

Remember how He told you

while He was still

in Galilee,

verse 7,

that the Son of Man

must be delivered

into the hands

of sinful men

and be crucified

and on the third day

rise.

Do you see

what the angels

are doing?

They're quoting Jesus.

Do you know why

they're quoting Jesus?

Because Jesus'

word is authoritative.

Jesus predicted

His own death

and His resurrection

in Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And here it is.

Being fulfilled.

And so with these angels

declaring this,

it adds weight

to the words

of what Jesus

has said.

And then these disciples,

these ladies,

lights go on.

They remembered

verse 8.

They remembered

His words.

They remembered

what He would say.

By the way,

that whole episode

right there

in Luke chapter 9,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

you might remember this.

This is the whole episode

where Jesus asks

His disciples,

hey, who do people

say that I am?

Some say John the Baptist

come back from the dead.

Others say Elijah,

one of the prophets,

and then Peter.

Do you remember

what Peter said?

You are the Christ.

The Messiah.

The long-anticipated

King of God.

And what Jesus does

with that,

it's very important

to know.

That confession,

Jesus then says,

and then the Son of Man,

a title for the Messiah,

will be handed over

to sinful men,

killed,

crucified,

and on the third day,

rise again.

What these angels

are saying,

it's bringing clarity

to who Jesus is.

A risen Messiah.

So these ladies,

now remembering,

make a beeline

to the other disciples.

And Luke is very purposeful

in verse 10

in pointing out

these were all women

who first saw

the empty tomb.

If you were

in the first century,

basing a case

on the witness

of women

was something

that you wouldn't do.

At that time,

women's testimony

was seen

as lesser

than men's.

And so it wouldn't

have carried

the same weight.

But what Luke

is doing here

is saying,

this is how it happened.

It's almost

counterintuitive.

And what it ends

up doing is

authenticates

the genuine

outworking

of what happened.

These women

were the first

to see the empty tomb.

And then we see

them showing up,

talking to the disciples,

and the disciples,

they're like,

whatever.

Sure,

yes,

I know you're upset.

Sure.

They thought it was

a quote-unquote

idle tale.

And they disbelieved.

It's a very strong word.

They did not believe

what they were saying.

Jesus' disciples

met the resurrection news

with skepticism.

Doesn't say much

of the disciples,

does it?

upon hearing

of the resurrection

of Jesus,

it's something

we don't hear

of that often.

A dead man

raised from the dead?

Alive?

One of the other

disciples who was there

was Peter.

And in verse 12,

we see what happens.

when he hears,

he jumps up

and runs.

Runs to the

empty tomb.

The question is,

why?

Why would Peter

respond this way?

And the rest of the

disciples respond

with idle tale,

whatever,

disbelief.

What's the difference?

let me make a suggestion.

In Luke 22,

Jesus is

arrested.

And before

he's arrested

at the Last Supper,

Jesus says,

one of you is going

to betray me.

And Peter says,

not me,

I'm going to the

death, baby!

Peter was a hothead,

very passionate.

I'm bringing it

down with you,

Jesus!

And what Jesus

told him was this,

you're going to

deny me three times

before the rooster

crows.

And it happened.

Peter denied

Jesus three times,

there was a rooster

that crowed,

and then Peter

wept bitterly.

It happened just

a couple days

before this.

Which means,

Peter has in mind,

Jesus' words

come true.

And so when he

hears these ladies

saying they met

an angel,

and the angel

said,

Jesus is the one,

remember what he

said?

He was going to

be handed over

to sinful men,

crucified and

rise again.

Peter's like,

yes!

And he jumps,

and he's running

to the tomb.

We don't know

how long he's

running for.

We don't know

what his heart rate

was.

We don't know

any of that

kind of detail.

But I am guessing

that as he's running,

it's okay,

okay.

All right.

I can't.

This is amazing.

Okay.

Wait, wait.

I said he was

the Christ,

and then he said

he was going to

rise from the dead.

Yes.

And then there was

Jairus' daughter

raised from the dead.

Yes.

And then there was

that widow's son

in the town of Nain.

He raised him

from the dead.

And then

there was Lazarus

raised from the dead.

And Jesus said

at that point,

I'm the resurrection

and the life.

If any of you die,

if you believe in me,

yet you will live.

I can't wait.

I can't wait.

I can't wait.

He gets to the tomb.

Bows down.

Looks in.

And he sees

the linens

quote unquote

by themselves.

Do you know

what that means?

There was no body.

No body.

No body of Jesus.

And then it records

Peter leaving

and wondering

or marveling.

He knew what was up.

Soon thereafter,

he would have

a personal encounter

with the risen Christ himself.

The biblical account

claims

that Jesus

raised from the dead.

Supernaturally

raised

from the dead

bodily.

That's the claim

Luke is making

right here.

The point is

Jesus is alive.

Jesus' corpse

was carried

into that tomb

and three days

later,

he walked

out

on his own

power.

That's the claim.

That's the biblical account.

The New Testament

claims that

Jesus not only died,

but he was raised

bodily

from the grave.

Supernaturally.

Now here's the question

everybody must answer.

How do you

explain the

empty tomb?

How do you

make sense of it?

There have been

several attempts

to make sense

of the empty tomb.

One is called

the stolen body theory.

It goes something

like this.

There's two versions.

The enemies of Jesus

stole his body.

The enemies

of Jesus

stole his body.

wanted to prevent

something from happening.

But here's the deal.

If the enemies of Jesus

stole the body of Jesus

and then there's this rumor

that starts going around

that Jesus' body

he had raised

from the dead.

If you were an enemy

of Jesus,

what would you do?

I'd pull a Jerry Maguire.

You know,

show me the money.

show me the body.

That's what I would do.

I'd just wheel out

the body of Jesus

right in the middle

of Jerusalem

and say,

here it is.

Squash that rumor.

The other version

of the stolen

savior theory

is Jesus'

disciples stole it.

Not only would that

first be like

doing what Jesus

told you not to do,

but did you know

that ten of the eleven

disciples died

martyrs' deaths

proclaiming that

not only Jesus died

but he was raised

from the dead bodily?

Let me ask you this way.

Would you die

for a known lie?

Would you give yourself

up for something

you knew that wasn't true?

The best explanation

of the empty tomb

is that God

supernaturally raised

Jesus from the dead

because he's the Messiah.

Here's another

explanation

for the empty tomb.

It's the swooned

savior theory.

Now I'm guessing

that when you hear

the word swoon

you think of teenage girls

swooning at one direction,

something like that.

It gets at fainting,

becoming unconscious.

And so the difference here

is the difference

between being resuscitated

and being resurrected.

and so the theory goes

that Jesus didn't really

die on the cross

and that when he was

brought back into,

put in the tomb,

he recovered.

You know how brutalized

he was?

He couldn't even carry

his cross.

He was so beat up.

He lost so much blood.

He was pierced.

He probably went into shock.

Do you know

that crucifixion

was one of the most

horrific ways to die?

You eventually died

of asphyxiation.

You couldn't breathe.

It was a whole body

kind of death.

The word,

our word excruciate

for pain

means literally

out of the cross.

that's the kind of pain

we're talking about.

People didn't recover

from crucifixions.

Not to mention

the Roman soldiers

who were there

assigned to make sure

that he was dead.

They knew what

they were doing.

They knew a dead body

when they saw it.

And so when Jesus

was put in the tomb,

he was dead.

Let's just pretend

he wasn't dead.

That he kind of recovered.

He would still have to move

a one or ten,

one or two ton

pound stone

out of the way.

And then he would have

to clear a guard

stationed in front of him.

Now a better explanation

is that God

supernaturally raised him

from the dead.

And then there's

the sentimentalized Savior.

It goes something like this.

The disciples

were so grieved.

They were so sad

that their Savior died

that as soon as they heard

any kind of rumor

that Jesus was alive,

they grabbed onto it.

And they believed it

and wanted to believe it

so much they said

it was true.

That's how it goes.

It's kind of like

a mass psychosis

of the early disciples

of Jesus.

They wanted to believe

it so much

that they actually

kind of felt

Jesus' presence.

that they felt him

speaking to him

after he died.

But that's not

what the New Testament

claims.

The New Testament

claims that

there were

over 500

eyewitnesses

to Jesus

after he was raised

from the dead.

Even in Luke 24,

what you'll read is

eyewitness account

after eyewitness.

Even Jesus,

after he was raised

from the dead,

walks into

the upper room

that was locked

and he says,

hey, it's me, Jesus.

And hey, look it,

you can touch my hands.

I'm kind of hungry.

Can you give me some fish?

Munch, munch, munch.

It's me, bodily raised

from the dead.

The New Testament

doesn't give any space

for this psychosis.

The best explanation

for the question,

the best answer,

how do you explain

the empty tomb?

Is that God

supernaturally raised

Jesus from the dead?

That it actually happened?

Here's the crazy claim.

It's just not

a religious claim.

It's a claim

to history.

That it actually

happened.

That Jesus

was really

dead.

Dead.

And then was raised

from the dead

three days later.

that's the eyewitness

testimony

of his disciples.

Did you know

that his disciples,

their lives

were dramatically changed?

Do you remember

what happened

in the garden

when Jesus was arrested?

His disciples

bolted

like,

out of here!

See ya!

After his resurrection,

Jesus appears

to his disciples

and something

changes

in his disciples.

They go from

being cowards

to being courageous.

They go from being,

I don't want to be

identified with this guy.

I'm going to die

for this guy.

The best explanation

for the empty tomb

is that God

supernaturally

raised Jesus

from the dead.

How do you explain

the empty tomb?

There's more

writing on this

than just history.

There's more

writing on the resurrection

than the question

did it happen

or not?

It's bigger

than that.

Here's what's

writing on it.

Who did Jesus

claim to be?

That's what's

writing on the resurrection.

Did you know

that he claimed

to be God?

He said,

I and the Father

are one.

Before Abraham

was,

I am,

as in the great

I am,

God.

He claimed that

for himself.

He taught things

like this.

The human problem

is not an external

problem.

It's an internal

problem.

What makes us

dirty in God's

eyes is not

outside of us,

it's inside of us.

It's called sin.

That's what he taught.

He taught his kingdom

was going to come

and spread.

He taught that he

was going to come

back one day

and make all

wrongs right,

that he was going

to bring justice

for everything.

And then there

was his miracles.

He calmed seas.

He cast out demons.

He cured diseases.

He raised people

from the dead.

If the resurrection

did not take place,

all of this about

Jesus,

nothing.

It doesn't mean

anything.

Because he himself

said,

I'm going to die

three days later.

I'm going to be

raised from the dead.

So if Jesus

was not raised

from the dead,

do you know

what that means?

Jesus is either

a liar

or he is

a lunatic.

He's a liar

if he wasn't

raised from the dead

because what he

said about himself

and what would

happen didn't

come true.

And it cast doubt

on everything else

he said about himself.

If he wasn't

raised from the dead,

he could be a lunatic.

Which means

he believed

that he was

really God

in the flesh,

but in actuality

he wasn't.

He just lost

his marbles.

He was not

in his right mind.

That's if

Jesus was not

raised from the dead.

But if Jesus

was raised

from the dead,

that puts

Jesus

in a camp

all

by himself.

He's not

a liar.

He's not a lunatic.

He's Lord

of

all.

Because what

he said

would happen

happened.

He said

happened.

God in the flesh,

he made this

outrageous claim.

I am the way,

the truth,

and life.

No one comes

to the Father

but through me.

If you want to be

saved,

if you want to go

to heaven,

you need to come

through me.

That's his claim.

There's no other

name under heaven

which man can be

saved.

That's what's

riding on this.

It's who Jesus

is.

God in the flesh,

teacher bar none,

the one who would

return and make

all things right.

What's riding on

the resurrection?

Who Jesus

really is

and what he

offers.

He offers

real forgiveness.

On Good Friday,

we celebrate

Good Friday

because Christians

believe that's the

day that Jesus

was killed,

crucified,

put to death

for all the sins

of those who

would one day

believe in him.

So think about it

this way.

Friday is when

the payment was

made.

Sunday was when

we got notice

that the payment

was accepted.

Jesus rose

from the dead

and it was this

declaration by God

saying payment

received in full,

my wrath

fully satisfied.

See what's

riding on this?

If Jesus was not

raised from the

dead, you know

what Paul says?

We're still in

our sins.

The resurrection

points to real

forgiveness and of

course the resurrection

points to real

hope.

our Savior's alive.

He's not dead.

The resurrection

demonstrates Jesus'

victory over death.

Death could not

hold him down.

So do you know

what that means

for Christians?

We have confidence

that our Savior's

gone before us.

We don't need to

fear death now.

Jesus is our

resurrection and

life.

If we believe

him though we

die yet we

shall live because

our Savior lives.

Peter calls him

our living hope.

What's riding on

the resurrection?

Who Jesus really

is.

Real forgiveness

and real hope.

How do you

respond?

How do you

respond to

something like

this?

How do you

respond to

this message

of Jesus

God in the

flesh crucified

on Friday

raised from the

dead on Sunday?

How do you

respond?

I'll give you

five options.

How's that?

You like options?

First is this.

You can deny

him.

Reject him

outright.

Maybe you're

the type that

says you know

what I don't

believe in the

supernatural stuff.

Dead people

stay dead.

They don't come

back to life.

Sorry I don't

buy it.

Okay.

Or maybe you're

saying you know

what it's a good

case I can see

why Jesus would

be Lord of all

but you know

what I really

love my sin.

I don't want to

change my life.

I like what I

get to do and I

know if I bowed

my knee to Jesus

I'd have to give

it up.

Just as long as

you know why

you're denying

him.

So you can

deny him.

Option two.

You can inquire

about him.

Pull a Peter.

Run to the tomb.

Explore.

Is it empty?

It's going to

hold up.

Ask the question

did it happen

or not?

Let that drive

the conversation.

Inquire about him.

But realize

when you inquire

about Jesus

you're going to

have to eventually

make a decision

of whether

he's Lord of all

or not.

And so the

third option is

to decide

to follow him.

To bow your

knee to Jesus.

To become

a Christian.

Here's how you know

it's time to become

a Christian.

you become aware

of your own sin.

And you become

aware that your

sin is against

the Holy God

and that his

just wrath

is over you.

And then you

also know

that this

same God

whose wrath

is just

has provided

a Savior

for you.

Who was put

to death

for you.

and was raised

from the dead

for you.

When you realize

this information

when that gets

real personal

like that

man I'm a sinner

I need a Savior.

God's provided

this Savior

who died

and was raised

from the dead.

You're ready

to become a Christian.

Put your faith

in Jesus.

The Bible

describes it

as repentance

and faith.

Turning from

your sinful ways

your sinful life

and trusting

in Jesus.

It's decisive.

You can decide

to become

a Christian today

on Easter Sunday

2015.

All you need

to do is

just say to Jesus

who's alive

I'll take it.

I believe it.

I believe

who you are.

I believe

you died

and I believe

you rose from

the dead

and I believe

you did it

for me

to rescue me

from my sin.

That's all

you need to do.

If you do

that today

would you let

me know?

I would be

so glad

to know.

Fourth thing

for Christians

in the room

your salvation

is based

upon the death

and resurrection

Jesus.

You're saved

because Jesus

was crucified

and raised

from the dead.

But did you

know that

the resurrection

of Jesus

provides a

very potent

motivation

to continue

to follow Jesus

after becoming

a Christian?

Check this out.

Any Christians

in the room

have ever had

doubts about

the Christian faith?

I have.

I've talked

to some

very smart

people

and I'm

like oh

that's a

really good

point.

You know

what to do?

Did the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

happen or

not?

It provides

encouragement

for a

questioning

soul.

Or maybe

you're facing

some danger

because you're

sticking your

neck out

as a Christian

in your

workplace

or your

school

or with

your

non-believing

family and

friends and

they're giving

you some

heat for it

and you're

like is

this worth

it?

Was Jesus

raised from

the dead

or not?

It's a

historical event

that happened.

Be encouraged

by that.

Maybe you're

in despair

brother.

Maybe you're

in despair

sister.

Going through

some kind

of divorce.

You've been

diagnosed with

a disease.

You're facing

your own

death.

You're seeing

devastation.

Did the

resurrection of

Jesus Christ

happen or

not?

Because if it

happened, God's

got a plan for

everything.

Maybe you're a

Christian who's

distracted.

Maybe you're

being lulled

to sleep by

some lullabies

of the world.

The resurrection

is like spiritual

smelling salts

for the Christian

soul.

It wakes you

up.

It snaps you

out of it.

It either

happened or

it didn't.

It's very

clarifying.

Or maybe

you're a

Christian who's

being tempted

to devilish

delights.

Desires of

the flesh.

Here's how the

resurrection

functions for

you.

God has

united you

to the

Savior who

died and

was raised

for you.

Death, sin,

sin no longer

has any power

over you.

Therefore, you

can now say

no to sin

with a smile

because you

would rather

please Jesus

than satisfy

your flesh.

That's what the

resurrection is.

It happened.

I've been

raised with

Jesus.

The fifth

option is

this.

If you've

become a

Christian,

you go

public.

You go

public.

You go

public with

becoming a

Christian.

It's

called

baptism.

Baptism is

a declaration,

an outward

declaration of

an inward

change.

When someone

becomes a

Christian,

they're united

to death in

Christ's death

and resurrection.

They become

one with

Jesus.

And what

baptism is,

is saying to

anybody who

would care to

listen, I

become one

with Jesus.

You see this

pool of water

here?

The water

represents death.

And so we

have five

people going

to be

baptized this

morning.

And each

one, I'm

going to ask

them two

questions.

Have you

put your

faith in

Jesus Christ

alone for

the forgiveness

of your sins,

the promise of

eternal life?

Yes.

Is it your

purpose, desire

to follow Jesus

all the days of

your life, no

matter what

happens?

Yes.

And I'm

going to say,

based on your

public profession

of faith, I

baptize you in

the name of the

Father, Son, and

the Holy Spirit.

And I'm

going to say,

united with

Christ in

his death,

under the

water,

raised with

Christ to

newness of

life.

What they're

saying is that

they have been

united with

Christ in

his death and

resurrection.

You get it?

It's awesome.

I couldn't sleep

last night because

I was so excited

about this.

Before we go

there, the

resurrection either

happened or it

didn't.

it's either the

world's biggest

con job or it's

the greatest news

the world could

ever hear.

Because the

resurrection

verifies who

Jesus is and

his offer of

real forgiveness

and real hope

for any who

would believe.

Let me pray and

then we'll start

doing some

baptizing.

Lord Jesus, we

do thank you so

much for who you

are and what

you've done.

God, we give you

praise for the

resurrection of

Jesus.

For those of us in

the room who are

Christians, God, you

be praised.

Thank you for

uniting us to

Jesus.

Thank you that we

have the promise of

forgiveness of sins

and the hope of a

life eternal

because our

Savior reigns.

God, I pray that

you would do your

work now.

We thank you for

your word.

We thank you, God.

There's no question

from the Bible that

Jesus has been

raised from the

dead.

Thank you, Jesus.

In your name we

pray.

Amen.