RESURRECTION!

 
            Matthew 28:1-15: 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
            What must it have been like to be so close to Jesus for 3 ½ years, sharing meals with Him, walking and talking with Him daily, listening to Him teach? What was it like to see Jesus lay His hands on a blind man and suddenly the man could see, or to lay hands on the deaf man and suddenly he could hear, or to witness Jesus giving a command to the lame man to pick up his bed and walk, and see him suddenly rise up for the first time in years? What was it like to see the demons screaming out in terror of Jesus as they exited the people they were tormenting, because the King of kings had commanded them to leave? What was it like to see this amazing Man, the Son of God, calm the wind and the waves with a command, multiply the bread and fish, and raise the dead? What was it like after 3 ½ years of these amazing experiences, to see Jesus arrested, falsely accused at his trial, severely beaten, mocked with a crown of thorns and a royal robe, and then crucified with nails in His hands and feet? 
            Devastating! Heart-breaking! Crushing! Overwhelming!!
            But then it happened—three days later, the most incredible event in history that completely changed everything!
            The resurrection of Jesus was a transformative event. After the crucifixion, the followers of Jesus were hiding out behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. They were afraid they may be next to be arrested and executed. In fact, one of the amazing proofs of the resurrection of Jesus is that these servants of God went out and preached the resurrection of Jesus at the cost of their lives. There is no way that they would have suffered the way they did for a lie, such as the lie the religious leaders wanted the people to believe—that the disciples stole His body during the night. The first time they were faced with hungry lions or the whipping post, they would have said: “Just kidding. We made it up. We recant.” 
            But, that is not what happened! The disciples of Jesus were so completely convinced that Jesus is a alive that they were willing to be arrested, whipped, imprisoned, crucified, thrown to the lions, and so on—for the truth that Jesus is alive!! 
            The resurrection of Jesus is the reality that separates the Christian faith from all other faiths. The religious leaders who founded the other religions of the world are all dead and gone—in many cases you can find the tomb where they lay. But, if you visit the tomb of Jesus, you will find it to be empty—Hallelujah, Jesus is alive!
            When loved ones who have walked with Jesus come to the end of their lives, the resurrection means everything to us, because suddenly the truth speaks soothingly to our hearts that death is not the end for our loved ones, but rather a transition from this life into the eternal, because Jesus has conquered death! The apostle Paul wrote those beautiful words in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (KJV). What a beautiful truth!
            The resurrection of Jesus is key to the Christian faith. Some years ago I was ministering to a married couple. The wife wanted to give her life to Jesus and be baptized into him, and the husband desperately wanted to join his wife in believing, but he was stuck on the doctrine of the resurrection. He said, in essence, “I want to believe, but I just cannot seem to get there.” 
             I suddenly realized that he had a spiritual block, and that if he truly wanted to believe God would help him to get there—because that is the will of God. So, I asked him if I could lay hands on him and pray for him. He agreed. 
            I laid hands on his head and prayed something along the lines: “Loving Father, You know that Sam (name changed) here wants to believe in You, and You have said if we ask anything, according to Your will, You hear us and we have what we have asked of You. So, I pray now, in Jesus’ Name, that you will open Sam’s heart and mind to believe in the truth of the resurrection.” 
            Suddenly, Sam said, “I believe. I believe.” He had an amazing look of joy on his face, and his body began to tremble, and he said, “Look, my body is shaking.” With tears of joy Sam had, by the grace of Christ, experienced the power of the resurrected Christ saving His soul, and he actually experienced the Holy Spirit’s beautiful Presence. 
            Sam and his wife were baptized just minutes later, and began a new life in Christ.  
            What does the resurrection mean for you? How does it give you hope? Sometimes, I discover Christians who are feeling despair because their loved one may have died without Jesus. However, I will point out to people in these circumstances that we have no way of knowing whether our loved ones reached out to Jesus before they died.  As I mentioned in last Sunday’s message, the thief on the cross is proof that the grace of Christ can be extended even upon the deathbed, if the person reaches out to Him in sincere repentance and faith. 
            The question we need to address, is what will I do with the resurrection? What will you do with the resurrection? Will you allow the truth of what Christ has done to permeate every area of your life? Will you and I choose to live in the power of the Holy Spirit who is the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead? 
            Friend, Jesus is alive. If you have not surrendered your life to Him, I urge you to do so today. Go to Christ in prayer, confess your sins to Him, repent—turn away from your sins—and invite Jesus into your heart. And then, at the first opportunity you get to identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus through baptism by immersion under water, I urge you to obediently be baptized. Giving your life to Jesus is the best decision you will ever make in your life. Let the resurrected Christ live in and through you. Commit to serving Jesus with a local church where the Bible is still believed and taught as the true Word of God that it is!  Live an uncompromising life of faith and trust in Jesus. Let Jesus shine in and through you so that others may be reached with this glorious Good News!! 
            Let’s pray: Father, I pray in Jesus’ most powerful and holy Name, the Name that is above every name, that You will saturate with Your loving Presence each person hearing or reading these words, each person reaching out to You and seeking You. Release Your amazing grace and forgiveness, and fill people with Your Holy Spirit, with peace, with hope, and with faith. Release the power of Your Presence, with the beauty of Your tender mercies and compassionate grace, and fill us fresh with Your Holy Spirit. Lord, we ask You to bring awakening, revival, renewal, deliverance, and freedom to this world that is in turmoil. Bring an end to the Coronavirus disease, and to the spiritual blindness of the hearts of mankind. And, draw the people of this world into a deep abiding relationship with You. We pray all of this, in Jesus’ Precious Name. Amen. 
            I encourage you to use the link below and listen to the song, “He’s Alive” performed by the Gaither Vocal Band. I believe this song will lift your faith and spirit to an even higher level:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gGa1w_bnvM

​          Blessings in Christ Jesus,
          Jeff