The Resurrection of Jesus: Remembering His Words and Life | Pastor William Hixson

Well, I thank the Lord for being back

here now. And I appreciate your prayers

while I was gone. And tonight we will

have a message, but we will also have

some pictures from my trip. It'll be

more like a report uh for that. But

there will be a message tonight to go

with it. So, I hope you come for that.

And I've got pictures I'd like to share

with you. For those of you that will

find it difficult to be here on the

evening, I'll try to do something with

slides or with with slides with pictures

uh on our monthly prayer meeting. If you

want to stay a little bit for that, I'll

try to do that for you. But of course,

everyone's welcome tonight. I know you

just can't wait to see Bill Hixon's

pictures.

I'm not known as a good cameraman, but

anyway, we're uh looking forward to

that.

James Morurell and his family were with

us in Ireland. They were with us and I

spent some time with uh both of them and

they will be with us next week, next

Sunday uh with three of their children

with three of their children, the three

that still in their home. He is the

field director of the country of

Argentina for Gospel Mission South

America. formerly he was involved in the

camp ministry there for many years and

uh so we're looking forward to them. One

of them's from Maine and one of them's

from Washington State and somehow they

met in the middle

and so uh that seems to happen with

those two states but anyway uh they'll

be with us and we're looking forward to

that. I will I will say something uh as

we just so do you have some idea of of

what happened on this trip before we

start our message.

This was not a vacation. This was a very

busy business trip and it was meant to

get a lot of work done.

And the Gospel Mission to South America

funnels missionaries from Canada, from

the United States, and from Great

Britain and uh or United Kingdom. And so

those are the three uh areas that are

providing missionaries. Some affiliate

missionaries from Germany have are

involved, but those are the three. And

uh so each each uh country that's each

area that's supplying missionaries has a

uh leader for that country

from the home country whether it's

Canada or the United States or

or UK. Everybody understand that? And so

uh so this meeting was to uh uh bring

the churches in the UK to have a better

understanding of the gospel mission of

South America because the churches have

have sent missionaries in the past. We

don't have any missionaries right now

but we've had have some very good

missionaries from Ireland, from

Scotland, from England. Uh and right now

we're hoping for more to be coming. But

the churches have really taken off with

interest and Nigel who is the uh the

head of that ministry over there right

now. He and he and his wife are dear

dear people. They've had a lot of work

teams going to South America including

Daryl Thompson's church in Radal. They

just put a great big building on the

side of that remodel and we're just a

bunch of guys go and they put it up and

then go back home. They've done several

trips like that. So the churches were

not ignorant of us. They knew about us

but they uh they did and some of the

pastors over there have been to South

America and two of them I met uh one

preached here. he and Wilson and the uh

and when he they were in the states. And

I I I'll just tell you this. I've always

want I've been to Ireland myself on

vacation a couple of times at my uncle

and aunt's expense

with them. But I always wanted to preach

in an Irish church because I've got a

lot of Irish heritage genetically.

And I wasn't sure the Lord was ever

going to let me do that, but I got to do

it. And so I'm very thankful for that.

And we were we were it's 11-day trip.

One day to get there, one day to get

back. And then the the nine days we had

left, he visited seven churches,

plus had several meetings

apart from that with uh uh with people

who were interested in making work trips

and so forth. It was a work trip if I

can just say that. a lot of work. Plus,

we had our own meetings to do in besides

of that. And so, there was a few

sightseeing things, but most of it was

labor. And then we had the whole riots

in Belfast going on while we were there.

And so, uh, as some of you know, a an

African immigrant tried to cut a man's

head off, and that didn't go down too

well with the Irish in Northern Ireland.

So, that happened in Belfast, and that

was where we flew into Belfast. We were

outside of Belfast, but we went into

Belfast to do ministries and other

stuff, keep things. And so, uh, that did

happen. And so, that made things very

interesting. That happened right when we

got there. And so, um, but it it was all

all right. And we're thankful for what

took place and what did not take place.

Um,

so we were very busy that of the nine

days we were actually in the in there

and thankful for the hospitality. the

wonderful hospitality of the churches.

I'll talk about all that tonight, but I

think it was a very practical trip,

useful. I feel that it was worth my time

and worth the time of our church to have

me gone and others to come in. And I

want to thank Pastor Lusher and Pastor

Demar for

pinch hitting for me while I was gone.

Steve Benson and others.

Okay, with that, uh, we will come to the

word of God today. And I want you to

turn, open your Bibles, and we're going

to be looking at the resurrection. Our

our our messages on the resurrection.

We're going back to that topic. You say,

"Pastor, you're beating one drum all the

time." Well, this is very important. If

Christ isn't raised, you're in your

sins, right?

So it's a very important subject

and we we've dealt with this subject in

different ways and I want you to look at

it from um

this aspect.

Last time we were together we looked at

the Old Testament

prophecies about the resurrection

of the Messiah.

not encyclopedically

but just suggestively.

And we we took Isaiah 53 out of the

other messages that uh old prophecies in

the Old Testament, but we mentioned

others plus the typology. That's what we

did last time. The prophecies of the Old

Testament of the resurrection of the

Messiah because Christ died for our sins

according to the scriptures. That's the

Old Testament scriptures. and he was

buried and rose again the third day

according to the scriptures.

So it's a huge thing that the

resurrection of Jesus was predicted in a

book that was written over many hundreds

of years and finished before Jesus was

born

400 years before he was

that that book predicted his ministry.

What I want to do this morning is add to

that

not only did the old what we call the

Old Testament predict the resurrection

of the Messiah, the Messiah himself

predicted it.

And we mentioned that last time, but we

didn't go into the details of it.

So the fact that the the best book that

was ever written predicted it and the

best person who ever lived predicted it

is a doublebarreled shotgun. It's

getting we're getting a double barrel on

this very important point

because only God can tell the future.

You want to know the finger of God? You

want to know what religion is really of

God? It's the one that can predict the

future and make it happen as he's

predicted it. And we touched on that

from the book of Isaiah.

So when we think about Jesus and his

predictions

of his own resurrection,

we have four different gospels, Matthew,

Mark, Luke, and John

that that have predictions in them by

Jesus written down

written down.

And some of these predictions,

especially in Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

are parallel passages. In other words,

they're different they're different uh

rec recollections and records of the

same prediction.

But uh they they all have it. Matthew's

got his predictions. Luke has his. Uh

Mark has his.

It's all there because it really

happened.

Now when we think about this, it's a

very big subject. It's a huge subject

and you can almost get weary doing it.

And so I have to try as a pastor not to

overload you or myself with just

spinning our wheels on this.

But if you would just wet your thumb

and and uh

Matthew 16:26,

Matthew 16:26

Matthew 2019, Matthew 26 60-61, Matthew

Matthew 26:31–32

26:31-32

all predict the resurrection of Jesus by

Jesus.

Jesus predicted his death and he

predicted his resurrection. Now Jesus

was

our Lord Jesus was 33 years old when

they murdered him.

So we're talking a man in his 30s

predicting he's not going to get to

three score and 10. He's not going to

get to be old. He makes a very clear

prediction. He's going to be killed.

And he does it over and over again. But

then he says on the third day he's going

to rise from the dead.

He puts a he puts a a a limitation on

it.

And that limitation is very interesting.

It's just so graphically concise.

And so it's very clear what's going on.

And John Walford said, "If Christ had

not been raised from the dead,

he would have been found a false

prophet."

True.

Think about who we're dealing with here.

We're not talking about some TV preacher

that's making all these stupid

predictions and he's wrong and he just

covers it up. We're talking about the

Old Testament. If you make a false

prediction,

you can be executed

as a false prophet

according to Deuteronomy.

So the Lord Jesus makes these

predictions in that environment.

And uh John Walbert who was president of

Dallas Seminary back when he was alive

said if Christ had not been raised from

the dead he would have been a false

prophet and all his all his ministry as

recorded in the gospels would have been

subject to question.

Why?

If you go around and predict stuff like

that it doesn't happen. There's

something deeply wrong with you.

Because if you're of God your prophecies

are going to come true.

So that's the that's the logic there.

And so I go with me to Matthew and just

look at this really quick. We're going

to emphasize John this morning, not

Matthew, Mark, or Luke. But turn with me

to Matthew in your Bibles just so you

see some of what's there. Start with

Matthew chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

Matthew,

Matthew chapter 16

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

21. Right.

Matthew chapter 16 verse 21. From that

Matthew 16:21

time forth began Jesus to show his

disciples how he must go to Jerusalem

and suffer many things from the elders

and chief priests and scribes and be

killed and be raised again the third

day. There's specifics there. Where's he

going to die? Jerusalem. Who's going to

kill him? The elders and the chief

priests and scribes.

When's he going to be risen? Third day.

third day after he dies. There's nothing

vague about this. This is very specific.

This is going to happen in Jerusalem.

These are the people that are going to

do it. I'm the one that's going to die

and I'll be raised again the third day.

That's pretty specific stuff in that

prophecy. So, there's not a lot of

wiggle room either. It's going to happen

or it's not.

Now you think about a 30- year old

person say given a prophecy like that.

What do you get out of that

in that environment?

What do you get out of making prophecies

like that?

If if if you if you go to Jerusalem and

you survive, then you're going to be

executed as a false prophet or thought

of as a false prophet. Nobody's ever

going to listen to you again. What

benefit is that?

And so it's a it's a fascinating thing

that Jesus did that.

He did it in that environment.

In chapter 20 and verse um

20 chapter 20 and verse 18, Jesus said,

"Behold, we go to Jerusalem, and the son

of man shall be betrayed unto the chief

priests and scribes, and they'll condemn

him to death, and shall deliver him to

the Gentiles to mock and a scourge and

to crucify him, and the third day he'll

rise again." It even gets more specific.

The Jews are going to be behind it, but

the Gentiles are going to be the

executors. and it is going to be by

crucifixion and I'm going to rise on the

third day.

Now, he kept saying it cuz they weren't

getting it.

You know, uh, some of us are kind of

pigheaded and, uh, we don't want

something to be and so we just pretend

it's not going to be and we don't

understand it or we don't even like it.

So, we just kind of shut our ears.

And Jesus's followers, they didn't want

him to die. They wanted him to live.

They wanted to reign with him. They just

thought, "What's all this? We don't need

this. Messiah's here." And so that was

in their minds, but Jesus was constantly

disabusing them and their wrong

expectations

about that. Turn over to chapter 26 and

verse 60.

And again, if you have a study Bible,

there's parallels of these in Mark and

Luke

dealing with the same situation. Matthew

Matthew 26:60

26 verse 60.

This is an interesting one

because we're going to be dealing with

this in our message today. But this is

the trial of Jesus.

And at his trial, there were some false

witnesses coming up

against Jesus. And it was a setup to put

him to death. It was a kangaroo court.

And we see that in verse 59. Now the

chief priests and elders and all the

councils sought witnesses, false

witnesses to put against Jesus to put

him to death and found none. They

couldn't find anybody that could do

anything credible against Jesus. Yay.

Though many false witnesses came, yay,

found none. At last came two false

witnesses

and said, "This fellow said, I'm able to

destroy the temple of God and build it

in three days." He did say that.

He did say that,

but uh these people were saying it not

because they believed it it was going to

happen, but because they wanted to get

Jesus in trouble. Now, when Jesus

originally said it,

he his enemies took it. You You're going

to try to destroy the Jewish temple.

They they purposely misinterpreted what

he said to get him in trouble,

but now they purposely misrepresent what

he said again to get him in trouble. But

they knew what he really meant.

You ever listen to our politicians or

the news that's biased in America and

they it's not they can't just be

satisfied with misinterpreting with with

interpreting what people say in any

honest way. They always make a twist to

it. You get a headline. That's what's

going on here in this kangaroo court.

But it notice what it says 2661.

They said, "This fellow said, I'm able

to destroy the temple of God and build

it in three days." And the high priest

arose and said to him, "Answerest thou

nothing what it is which these witnesses

witnessed against you." And Jesus held

his peace. Why? There's no point in

having a discussion with people that the

Lord got their minds made up. You know

the old saying, don't commuse me with

the facts. My mind's made up. So Jesus

said nothing

uh until the he was put under oath to

say something. I adjure thee by the

living God. You tell us whether you be

the Christ or the son of God. And he

said, "Thou you've said," which means I

am. Nevertheless, I said to you,

hereafter, you'll see the son of man

sitting on the right hand of power and

coming in the clouds of heaven. So that

was when Jesus was on trial for his

life.

So those are some things that the

similar passages are in Matthew, Mark,

and Luke. Uh but in John, we get some

other stuff. John was the last one to

write a gospel.

So, and John was with Jesus from the

time of John the Baptist to the time

Jesus died. He was right there. So, John

is putting some things in that the

others left out. Not that they didn't

know about him, but that they were

writing the way they were writing,

including what they were including. And

John is going to put a whole new thing

on it. And I don't even believe he

started writing it at 95. I think that

was his way of preaching all the way

through from the time he started. He

just kept adding to it.

So what's our point this morning? The

greatest book ever written in all human

history predicts the death, burial, and

resurrection of the greatest person in

all of human history, Jesus Christ. Our

calendars reflect this person's

existence.

Every time we look at a calendar, write

a check, or set a date for a meeting of

any kind in the future, uh, and uh, uh,

there's there it's a it's a reflection

of what happened 2,000 years ago.

It's amazing thing. Our very calendars

today after 2,000 years are dated around

who Jesus is.

and what we call the Old Testament was

preoccupied with Jesus, his birth, his

life, his death, his resurrection, his

return as Jesus said, "Moses wrote of

me." So, here's the doublebarreled

shotgun. The Old Testament taught taught

it and Jesus taught it. He was just

teaching what the Old Testament taught.

Now, I'm not going to even deal with

Matthew, Mark, and Luke this morning.

I'm just going to John and that's where

we're going to spend our time. So turn

with me to John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

And here we find John chapter 1 and two.

John 1 · chapter mention

Here we find that the Lord Jesus

predicted.

He predicted his own death and

resurrection.

He did it.

And in John chapter 2 verse uh 13,

John 2 · chapter mention

everybody with me? John 21:13. And the

John 21:13

Jews Passover was at hand. Jesus went up

to Jerusalem. Now he did this two times.

Once at the beginning of his ministry,

once at the end. and found in the temple

those that sold oxen, sheep, doves, and

changers of money sitting. And when he

made a scourge of small cords, he drove

them all out of the temple, and the

sheep, and the oxen, poured out the

money changers, and overthrew tables,

and said, and the said to them that sold

doves, "Take these things from here.

Make not my father's house a house of

merchandise." You're turning the temple

into a mall. You're you're just making

money off everybody that comes in. You

know how they do it. resort areas or

people were they were all the prices go

up. They're making money and but these

these people were making money off the

people were trying to worship

in a wrong way, in an inflated way.

And his disciples remembered what was

written, the zeal of the Lord's house

has eaten me up. Then answered the Jews

to him, what sign showest thou unto us,

seeing you do these things? Who do you

think you are coming in here? This is

our temple.

What sign do you show us that you're

doing these things?

And that's what Jesus said. He answered

and said, "Here's the sign.

You want to know who I am? You want to

know my authority to do what I just did?

Destroy this temple

and in three days I'll raise it up."

Then said the Jews, 40 and six years was

this temple in building, and you'll

raise it up in three days. But he spoke

of the temple of his body.

Now this is a little cryptic,

but here's a prediction, a very early

prediction. Three years before he died

that he was going to die.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the

Passover and the feast, many believed on

his name. Excuse me, I'm sorry. Verse

22. When therefore he was risen from the

dead, he skips three day three years

later, his disciples remembered that

he'd said this to them and they believe

the scripture in the word which Jesus

said.

So it shot right by the disciples

in the beginning but after the fact they

started remembering.

Do you have ever have people question

the gospels? You know the gospels are

written so many years after the event.

Therefore, there had the mistakes come

in. You know what? We all have selective

memories. We all have things we forget.

But we also have things we remember.

I was reflecting on this because 50

years ago I graduated from Grace

Theological Seminary

and I got a master in divinity which is

a three-year degree

because I didn't have Greek before I

went to seminary it extended it to an

extra semester a fourth year and then I

just stayed another while I was there I

thought oh I might as well take Aramaic

and advanced Hebrew reading other stuff.

While I'm here, I'm going to get I may

never get back.

But I I thought about it this morning

and I was thinking about the parallel.

These pe these people were with Jesus

for three years.

And when the gospels are written, it's

years later,

maybe, you know,

25 years or 30 years or 40 years later.

So people say, well, their memory can

get twisted. Yes, that memory can get

twisted. They're forgetting that God

controls what people remember. They're

forgetting that God's in control of the

writer of scripture. But even on a human

level, I remember my professor's names

from seminary 50 years ago.

They're all in heaven. I remember their

names. I'm not a good rememberer. That's

my wife. I forget more than I remember.

I remember the classes I took and who

taught them.

I remember the special speakers that

came to Grace Seminary that were of a of

a on a different level that I was glad

that I heard. John pre Dr. John Walver,

president of Dallas, uh I heard Charles

Ryrie uh very very prominent professor

at Dallas at that time. I heard Merl

Tenny from Wheaton College

uh and those kind of men

from from other schools that spoke in

chapel. I also

remembered special chapel speakers that

were missionaries or like the man that

led Dr. Wickham to the Lord, Donald

Fullerton. I thought he was an ancient

guy. He was about my age now when he

spoke. I remember I remember shaking his

hand. I remember talking with him asking

questions. I remember what he said.

So there are some events that you

forget. We all forget. But there's some

things you can't forget because they

were too important to you.

And if I can remember it, I'm sure the

apostles in there guided by God's

inspiration remembered things.

Plus, they were taking notes. The other

part is they didn't just start thinking

about this. uh uh 30 40 years after the

events, they were preaching about this

during all that time.

They just didn't write it down in an

inspired way.

So, the gospels are the kinds of things

they were teaching their whole lives,

including John.

Um I remember who I ate with in the

college dormatory. I remember my

roommates.

I remember the Bible classes I had. I

remember the church we started in

seminary. I remember the trips we made

to Chicago to get books because didn't

have computers that day. You had to go

research at Notre Dame and other places.

So I remember that stuff. I know Not

Notre Dame is not in Chicago, but it's

on the way to Chicago, Indiana.

So, I have no problem with these men

writing these books who were so involved

in this. It's a major part of their

life. They're giving their life to that.

And they're remembering this prediction.

John remembered it. He wrote it down. It

was significant.

Extremely significant.

And the whole Jewish temple

uh is the place where God dwells. Right?

What is the Jewish temple?

The Jewish temple and that's here is not

a Christian cathedral

or a Christian local church building.

It's a temple and the shikina glory the

presence of God was in that temple.

So when Jesus said, "Destroy this temple

in three days I'll raise it up." He's he

understands who he is.

He understands that they can't stop

this. He understands that he is God

and that when they attack him, they're

attacking the temple of God.

This is a very interesting prophecy and

fascinating prophecy.

Um

so I believe and in verse what when it's

talking in this section

uh that the apostles remembered after he

was risen from the dead in verse 22.

We we knew he said that. They all knew

it. He did say it, didn't he? He said

it. Now we know what he meant

when when he was risen from the dead.

Verse 22, his disciples remembered he'd

said this to them and they believed the

scripture and the word which Jesus had

said and then it got written down into

John's gospel.

Fascinating business, isn't it? So all

this was very very early in the ministry

of Jesus. Their memory kicked in. They

wrote it down so we could get it.

And it was a cryptic prophecy. Uh the

enemy on purpose missed. Uh I believe

tried to make it different than it was.

And then they changed it around when

Jesus died uh to what it really was.

They were they were just like

politicians and reporters trying to grab

an statement and twisting it to make the

person look bad.

But Jesus was saying,

uh, I can prove my authority

to confront sinners and to regulate

worship.

You destroy this temple. Three days,

I'll raise it up.

It's just like this building is a is

where God dwells, my body is where God

dwells.

And what a fascinating thing all that's

about.

Now, the Gospel of John begins with

this. The Gospel of John begins with

this. It's a it's a it's at the very

beginning of his ministry that he he

makes this prediction.

So, he's locked in.

He's locked in for this to happen now.

And he locks it locks himself in.

He himself had crystal clarity on this

subject. And the apostles rem remember

remembered it and John wrote it down.

Thank you, John, for this prophecy.

What young man? Why would a young man

make a prophecy like this? What's he get

out of it?

You make a prophecy like this, then

you've got to die.

You got to die.

You have to be you have to die by

execution

and then somehow pull off your own

resurrection. Who would make something

up like that? Because if you don't do

it, you're totally completely

discredited. Nobody's ever going to

remember anything you said or anything

you ever did.

Um

was that was very clear in their own

Bibles in the Old Testament.

So uh 30 years after this prediction he

was martyed and he arose from the dead.

They said this is a sign

if you don't execute me if I'm not

raised from the dead three days later

you can erase me from history and not

believe anything I ever said or did.

That's a good beginning in John's

gospel, right?

Glad you were there, John, to record it.

So, he has this this uh double

authentication going on here by this

prophecy.

Connect

what I say and the time limits that I

put on it and connect that with me.

Connect the prophecy with the person

that gave it. You know, I just got back

on a trip to to uh the United Kingdom. I

had to have a passport.

I had to have a visa for the first time.

I had to have visa

and my passport and that visa. And you

know what you some of you have been in

airports, you know, now they just kind

of take your picture and the picture

does it all.

And uh they connect what they they've

got in their system with how you look.

And if it doesn't if it doesn't match,

too bad. So sorry you're not getting in.

Well, here we have an event where Jesus

predicts something about himself.

And either it's going to match or it's

not going to match.

If it matches, then we know that Jesus

is legal.

He's legal. And he even puts a three-day

thing on it.

My grandfather was in the hospital uh at

at in his 70s and he had to have a

medical procedure and the doctor told

him, "We got to put a breathing tube in

you." And my grandfather said, "How long

is it going to be in?"

The doctor said, "Three days."

And my grandfather said, "I'll hold you

to that."

He was an old-timer.

He'd never been to a doctor until he was

in the hospital for the first time

before he died.

They put a breathing tube in. I'm not

saying my grandpa was right in doing

this. I'm just saying he was my grandpa

and

deals a deal.

My grandpa waited three days.

No breathing tube take out. He took it

out himself.

He pulled that breathing tube out.

He didn't kill himself, right? That

wasn't what killed him. Something else

did a few much later, but uh a deal is a

deal.

My grandpa was an honorable man. He

expected other men to keep their word.

Now, I know there's medical things that

happen

and even though the doctor says one

thing, it might have to be another

thing. My grandpa didn't care about

that. This is manto man. Three days,

I'll be on this thing.

Now, don't follow my grandpa's example

in that.

He was a good Christian. I'm looking

forward to seeing him.

The fascinating thing here is even the

enemies remembered this prophecy.

And then they re they also knew the real

meaning. Although they pretended it was

the Jewish temple, they knew Jesus was

talking. And they said, "We remember the

deceiver said three days I'll rise

again." They knew.

They knew

uh and they had their own agenda and

they misinterpreted him. But then when

the resurrection happened, they or the

death happened, they they got a little

concerned. Oh, we better better put some

guards up. We better put some we better

guard the tomb of a man we believed is a

false prophet. We better we better

guard. He might it might happen.

Although somebody might steal a body, I

think they really thought there might be

something to this

in their fantasy.

Now, that's not all Jesus said about the

resurrection from the dead. He he is he

is preoccupied with this and uh uh and

he believes he has the he's the author

of life. He that believes on the son has

everlasting life. He that believes not

the Son shall not see life, but the

wrath of God abides on him. He was very,

that's John 3:36. He was very clear

John 3:36

about uh who he was and the significance

of what he did. And he said to the woman

of the well, "Whoever drinks of this

water will thirst again, but whoever

drinks of the water I give him shall

never thirst, but the water I'll give

him shall be in him a well of water

springing to everlasting life." He

understood his responsibility and he

knew what was going and that listening

to him was quite important.

In John chapter 5, if you'll skip over

John 5 · chapter mention

there, we see a a second resurrection

prediction. I think I mentioned this

last time. John 5:21,

John 5:21

he says in John 5:21,

John 5:21

"For as the Father raises up the dead

and gives them life, even so the Son

gives life to whom he will.

For the Father judges no man, but

committed all judgment to the Son. That

all should honor the Son, even as they

honor the Father. He that honors not the

Son honors not the Father who sent him.

For verily I say to you, he that hears

my word and believes on him that sent me

has everlasting life.

That old English hath means has and

shall not come into judgment but is

passed from death to life. That's a

spiritual resurrection of the soul with

a new birth. Verily I say to you, the

hour is coming, and now is, when the

dead shall hear the voice of the Son of

God, and they that hear shall live. The

dead there are the spiritually dead.

It's a resurrection that's happening

now. It's a resurrection that can happen

to you today if you're not a Christian.

You can receive eternal life from Jesus

Christ

because we're all dead in trespasses and

sins until we're made alive according to

the Apostle Paul. And that's what he's

talking about, a spiritual resurrection.

For as verse 26, says, "The father hath

life in himself. He's given the son to

have life in himself, and he's giving

him authority to execute judgment

because he's the son of man." Now, here

comes the physical resurrection in the

future. Spiritual resurrections are

going on every day around this planet

where people dead in trespasses and sins

are born again and God imparts life to

their soul. Here's physical. This deals

with the body. Marvel not at this for

the hour is coming. Now in the early one

he said the hour is coming and now is

verse 25. In this one he says the hour

is coming. This isn't happening yet. In

which all that are in the graves, this

is not spiritual resurrection. This is

physical.

All that are in the graves shall hear

his voice

and shall come forth. They that have

done good unto the resurrection of life.

They that have done evil to the

resurrection of damnation. And of

course, don't think that's a work

salvation. The doing good is a product

of the new birth. And the doing evil is

a product of not having the good new

birth. is dealing with the life. But

everybody's raised.

Do you realize every person that's ever

been born and ever lived is going to be

resurrected?

Down to aborted babies, down to people

who just lived one day as a baby. Every

person that's ever been lived, ever

buried, saved and unsaved, will be

risen.

You can't stay in the grave. Nobody

stays in the grave. They may want to

stay in the grave. That may be their

plan. When you're dead, you're dead.

You're dead. Not

Not when a risen savior has risen the

dead. Now, if he's not risen, he can't

raise anybody else.

A dead Jesus can't raise the dead.

He has to be a living Jesus. He has to

have conquered death himself to conquer

it for others, saved and unsaved.

That's the picture.

He's the first fruits of those that

sleep. Colossians 1:18.

Colossians 1:18

And billions and billions of graves will

be emptied of the bodies that were found

in them.

The sea will give up the dead that's in

them.

You say, "I'm going to let the fish eat

me. I'll get away from Jesus."

No.

I'm going to be cremated. I'll be

burned. I can get away from Jesus. No.

That doesn't work. All that are in the

graves, whether you're ashes, whether

you're fish food, wherever your grave

is, all that are in the graves, no

exception. Every person that's ever

lived is going to live again.

And Jesus is the one that's going to

call them out of the grave.

He's calling people to spiritual

resurrection. Now, if you're born again

and you have new life, it's because

Jesus spoke to your heart. He's going to

call

uh graves are not your permanent resting

place. It's a temporary place. It's like

a motel for your body till this trumpet

sounds.

It's very important to know these

things.

And God's appointed today, Acts 17:31,

Acts 17:31

and he will judge the world by

righteousness by that man whom he's

ordained, and his name is Jesus Christ.

And so, what a precious thing. So, John

five has got Jesus being the one who

resurrects the dead at the end of

history. But you can't raise the dead in

the future if you're still dead

yourself. That's 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

That's Romans 8:11.

Romans 8:11

So these verses where Jesus is talking

about himself as the end time raiser of

the dead

and others like it are showing that he's

going to be raised from the dead.

A dead Jesus can't raise the dead.

He was dead but he's alive.

And because he lives we live also.

If in this life only we have hope in

Christ, we're of all men most miserable.

But now is Christ risen from the dead,

and the first fruits of those that

sleep. First fruits is like that first

crop that comes that promises the rest

are coming.

So interesting passage. John 6. Turn

there. John 6. I got to hurry now. John

John 6:28

6:28.

And they said to him, "What do we do

that we might work the works of God?"

And Jesus answered, "This is the work of

God that you believe on him whom he

sent."

This is it. Just do that. And they said

to him, "What sign showest thou then

that we may see and believe? What do you

work? Our fathers did eat mana in the

desert. As it's written, he gave them

fruit from heaven to eat." This is very,

it's sad, but it's funny. He fed 5,000

people with the loaves and fishes and

multiplied them. And you know what

they're asking for? You know what

they're hitting at? We'd like another

meal.

God fed us for 40 years in the

wilderness. How about three meals from

now on for everybody from you.

That's really what they were suggesting.

And so, um, Jesus said to them, "Verily,

verily, I say to you, verse 32, Moses

gave you that bread. Moses gave you not

that bread from heaven, but my father

gave you the true bread from heaven. And

the bread of God is he that comes down

from heaven and gives life to the world.

Gives life to the world."

And they said, "Evermore, Lord, give us

this bread." And Jesus said, "I'm the

bread. He that comes to me shall never

hunger. He that believes on me will

never thirst. But I said that you that

you seen me and you believe not. All

that the Father gives me will come to

me. And him that comes to me, I'll no

wise cast out. I came down from heaven

not to do my own will, but the will of

him that sent me. And this is the

Father's will that sent me. Of all that

he's given me, I should lose nothing,

but should what? Raise it up again at

the last day." your your your little pea

brains are not getting it right. This is

a bigger thing. And this is the will of

him that sent me that everyone who sees

the son and believes on him may have

everlasting life and I'll raise him up

at the last day.

And he says that in verse 44, and he

says it again in verse 54. I'll raise

him up at the last day. But again, if

he's not risen from the dead, he can't

raise anybody else from the dead. It's

very clear that he's the first fruits of

them that sleep and that he is the one

who resurrects everybody else. And so

that's a precious story.

Um,

that's pretty good. We've come pretty

far.

Christ can't raise the dead if he's dead

himself. Only a risen Christ can raise

the dead.

John chapter,

let's go to chapter 11 for time sake. I

was going to go to chapter 10, uh, verse

24- 26. Go to John 11:23.

John 11:23

John 11:23.

John 11:23

This is Jesus at the grave of Lazarus.

What's this chapter all about?

If you don't believe I can raise the

dead, watch this.

Now, this was a resurrection from the

dead. Little R. Lazarus was raised from

the dead after he was dead and started

to stink back to this life.

It's not the same as the resurrection

that'll happen when the trumpet sounds

where we'll never be able to die again.

Lazarus died again

and so did the little girl that Jesus

raised and so did the young man that he

raised. Those were resurrections, but

they were not the ultimate kind of

resurrection. when once you're raised,

you're raised and you never have to die

again.

But this is simply a an illustration.

It's very interesting that Jesus at this

point almost at the end of his ministry

does this.

It's like

it's like

if you don't know who I am and you don't

know I'm the end time judge and I'm the

one that raises all the dead, please

watch this.

This is just a sample.

It's like your wife giving you a little

piece of pie

to taste

so that

you'll be hungry for the rest of it. At

least that's what happens in my house.

So Jesus said, "You don't believe I can

raise the dead? Watch this. He just

wrecked the whole funeral. He just

ruined the whole funeral. Everybody's

there morning. He interrupted

everything. Wasn't that selfish of him?

And he raised Lazarus from the dead. And

Jesus said to Martha in 23, "Your

brother will rise again." Martha said to

him, "I know he'll rise again in the

resurrection of the last day." And Jesus

said, "Do you know who you're talking

to?

I am the resurrection and the life. He

that believes in me will though you were

dead, yet shall he live. And he that

lives and believes in me will never die.

Believest thou this?" Get a grip.

Martha,

you you you're upset because I delayed.

I delayed for a reason. I want him dead.

So I can show you I can raise the dead.

And this is just a little sample of who

I am.

I'm the resurrection life.

A marvelous

thing

that Jesus does here.

Well, we go on to other things

and you can go on and go on and go on in

here. Turn to John. I'm going to go to

John 14.

John 14:19. Yet a little while and the

John 14:19

world sees me no more, but you'll see me

because I live.

You'll live also.

because I live, you'll live also.

And look over in John 17.

Uh well,

and he says in verse John 14:9 29, now

John 14:9

I've told you before it come to pass

that when it comes to pass you might

believe.

So you know Jesus is preparing them for

this interruption in their expectations

and everything else.

Um,

so you can go to John 16 5-11. That

presupposes a resurrection. You can go

to John 17 1-5. This doesn't sound like

a defeated person.

He's going to be dead the next morning.

And as he prays to the father, father,

the hour has come. Glorify your son that

your son may glorify you as you've given

him authority over all flesh that he

should give eternal life as many as

you've given him. This is life eternal.

They might know you, the only true God

in Jesus Christ whom you sent. I've

glorified you on the earth. I finished

the work you gave me to do. And oh

father, glorify thou me with thy own

self with the glory I had with you

before the world was. So our Lord is

embracing his coming death and he's

praying for those that are left behind.

But you know what? Our time is up here,

but we haven't even touched this yet in

John.

How about Easter morning

when Jesus appears to Martha?

How about that?

Martha who thought body had been stolen.

Martha who told others the body had been

stolen.

What am I saying? Martha

>> Mary

>> Mary Mary thank you Linda

wife is a good helpmate to a preacher if

you can quietly get your attention

so we have we have Mary at the grave and

we have Mary hanging on to Jesus's feet

when she finds out who he is stop

holding on to me I haven't yet ascended

to my father and your father my God and

your God

and so what a wonderful

appearance is one of my favorites in the

Bible. And then you got Easter evening

when the apostles are gathered,

everybody but Thomas and Jesus appears.

And then you got a week later, Thomas is

with them and he appears to Tom and he

appears then and Thomas says, "Unless I

see the holes in his hands and his feet

in his side, I'm not going to believe."

And then Jesus appears and

Thomas is totally convinced and starts

changing his mind. says, "My Lord,

my God."

Now, John wrote more than this.

All these things, these these wonderful

last chapters are the greatest part of

it. And remember the whole business

about the fishing expedition when

Jesus went fishing with the disciples.

They caught nothing. He caught

everything.

Dead people can't fish.

Dead people don't fix breakfast.

Dead people don't build fire.

Dead people don't speak and confront

Jesus is risen.

for Jesus

and saved.

I was

born two months premature. I think some

of you know that. I've told that from

the pulpit. But Dr. Richard Council was

our family doctor. He delivered me as a

seven-month-old

premature baby in 1949.

He was a good doctor. He took care of me

when I had the measles, when I had the

MS, when I had Scarlettina, other when I

had an infected ear drum. He took care

of me. The doctor counts as even though

he's a good doctor

is dead.

You say, "How do you know?" He was born

in 1910.

So, I'm pretty sure he's dead.

And then I looked up in the cemetery in

Chilikathy and he's buried in the same

temp cemetery and I know he's dead. He's

dead. He's buried. He as much as he

helped me in my youth cannot help me

anymore or anyone else in Chilikothy or

anywhere else anywhere.

his bodies in the cemetery, the same

cemetery as my grandparents parents and

my younger brother and my aunt and uncle

and all a bunch of other chilacopathians

that are gone.

But Jesus is risen.

That's why we have a church.

That's why time marches on. Our savior

is risen. He's in the world today. It's

a blessed thought.

John Swain's not here, but why he gave

me that book, Seven Men that Rule from

the Grave, and it deals with Darwin and

and a bunch of the uh uh people that

philosophers and psychiatrists and

everybody else everybody listens to

today. And and in that book, it

basically says they're all dead, but

Jesus is risen.

A great book.

it. People listen to them, but they

don't listen to Jesus.

He's risen. He's the only one that

conquered death.

Gwald Saunders in his book, Incomparable

Christ, quotes um another writer that I

like, William Graham Scroggy, and he

said, "The resurrection is not denied

because the evidence is regarded as

insufficient, but the evidence is

rejected and repudiated because the

resurrection is denied." A resurrection

is regarded as impossible. Little

attempt is made to explain away the

evidence on which it rests. But the

improbability of supernaturalism is one

of the most arrogant assumptions ever

made. It takes for granted what still

needs to be proven. And that's true.

Listen, Western philosophers that our

whole society is built on dead.

Muhammad's dead. Buddha's dead. Darwin's

dead. Julius Wilhousen's dead.

Uh, Jesus is risen.

Jesus is risen.

I believe we have an airtight case for

the resurrection.

And God calls all men everywhere to

repent.

All men everywhere to repent.

Um,

what a precious thing that we can rest

in.

I was reading Norman Gistler and he made

this statement and I like that the

continuity between Jesus dead and

resurrected body.

And please bear with this. I know my

time's almost up. Another evidence of

the material nature of Jesus

resurrection body is the close and

repeated connection made in the New

Testament between the death and

resurrection of Christ. Paul considered

of first importance that Christ died for

our sins that he was buried. He was

raised on the third day. The same

connection between the physical body

that was buried and the body that was

resurrection is repeated elsewhere. And

he starts quoting all these scriptures.

And then he says, "Jesus stressed the

continuity between the pre and

postresurrection body when he said,

"Destroy this temple and I will raise it

again in three days."

John 21:19. Here Jesus declared that the

John 21:19

same body that would be destroyed would

be raised again. The same continuity is

affirmed in the strong comparison

between Jesus's death and the

resurrection and Jonah. He said, "For as

Jonah was three days and three nights in

the belly of the great fish, so will the

Son of Man be three days and three

nights in the heart of the earth."

Obviously, in both cases, the same

physical body that went in was the same

that came out.

The inseparable connection by Paul the

converted Pharisee of the pre and

postresurrection body of Jesus is strong

and confirm strong confirmation that

he's affirming the physical material

nature of the resurrection body destroy

this temple

in three days I will raise it the temple

you destroy

continuity

Well,

we learn in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that the

1 Corinthians 6:9

individual body of the Christian is a

temple.

We find out in first in in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:9

3:9 that the local body of churches is a

temple.

Jesus's body is a temple. There's

something sacred about a temple.

Um,

and what a blessed thing as we think

about

uh having this temple.

We should take care of our temple,

right?

Your body's a temple. Take care of your

body.

You say, "Well, I was going to die." I

know, but you still take care of it.

One of the interesting things we enjoyed

in Ireland was there was a dear sister

in Christ was a widow and she lived

alone.

Ask her how old she was and she's my

age. So uh and but she's a lovely lady

and she had a farmhouse that we all ate

at. 15 of us eating at her table in the

farmhouse.

a beautiful carpet,

old, you could tell is overundred years

old, easy. Not even a question how old

that house was. Not even a question. And

um

she she fed she fed the whole crowd. She

had some help with some other ladies

and she was uh very much involved in

blessing us and being a help to us.

In that wonderful house, I got a picture

of it. They had a a glass what do you

call it? An arboritum or whatever it is

a glass thing like a porch

ar

>> whatever it was she had it was like a

patio glassed in patio and unfortunately

a tree had fallen down and hit the top

of that and busted the glass but it

didn't damage other things and she'd had

some of it repaired by the time we got

there but

you know she was repairing it. She kept

good

care of it.

You know, we can't stop getting old, can

we?

Um, no. Everybody gets old.

None of us look like we look when we

were 20.

I told you I've gone to some of my high

school reunions and

didn't recognize anybody there. Nobody.

Now, once they told me, "Oh, yeah,

that's you in there."

But, you know, we get older.

Uh, some things stay the same, some

things are not the same.

Uh, the best of us are broken and

damaged.

But Jesus cares about us.

That woman kept her house immaculate.

out of love for her husband whose house

it was was gone.

May God help us to know that our bodies

are a temple of Holy Spirit.

And that temple's going to be d is being

destroyed. We're decaying. We're we're

falling apart, but it's going to be

risen.

May we care about ourselves

individually. May we care about our

local assembly deeply. Local churches

are important

and so and so individually we're a

temple. Collectively we're a temple as a

local church. But ultimately Jesus is

the ultimate temple, isn't he?

Destroy this temple. Three days I'll

raise it up. He didn't just claim it.

He did it.

that certifies him

for who he is and all that he can do and

will do. Nobody else in all history has

ever risen from the grave,

nor will they till the trumpet sounds.

Father, we thank you for what we've

looked at today. There's anybody here

not saved, we pray that this would be

the day they'd come to know their

heavenly father

who sent Jesus to die for us so that we

could be with him forever in Jesus name.

Amen.

Last h is 325

325

as we go from this place

loving you more

trusting you more.

May the power of your love and the light

of your word shine to a sin darkened

world.

as we go from this place.