Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 28. Matthew Chapter 28. This morning, we are going to study the rising of the sun. For Christians, this isn't a study in heliology or cosmology or astronomy. but rather the S-O-N sun, the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
The bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is not a take it or leave it doctrine. It is not the stuff of millennial positions. It is not the stuff of the grain direction of the Ark's gopher wood. It is a non-negotiable, vital, doctrine central to Christianity cannot be divorced or thrusted away from the Christian's profession?
And why would anyone want it to be? Why would the liberal so-called Christians want to tear away the lifeblood, if you will, of Christianity, away from Christianity's profession? From the outset, of Christianity or from the outset of the account of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is the stuff of Christian comfort throughout the ages. We only have to see that glorious transformation from downtrodden, doubtful, fearful disciples to bold, courageous proclaimers of the resurrected Messiah.
We come to the pages of the Book of Acts and we find Stephen glorying it and finding great comfort in the risen Christ. Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of God standing at the right hand of God. We consider the Apostle Paul who counted it, or who said those words, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. What is the gain of death but to cast with eyes of sight, not faith, upon the risen and glorified Redeemer?
We come to the accounts of the early church, and we find martyr upon martyr, before they are to be beheaded, before they are to be burned, before they are to be whatever, ushered in by way of death to the glory of the Savior, they call upon, or they cast their eyes of faith upon, or they profess before their unbelieving enemies the glories of the risen Christ. Ignatius in, I believe it was 110 AD, if you read Fox's Book of Martyrs, says, and I'm paraphrasing, bring on the pain of the cross or the pain of fire. He says, bring on the tearing apart of bulls or lions, only that I may win Christ Jesus. He with Paul could say, to die is gain.
And that gain was a resurrected Savior. So we are going to study the rising of the sun, the rising of our blessed Jesus. Matthew 28, beginning at verse 1. Now after the Sabbath, As the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And indeed, he is going before you into Galilee.
There you will see him. Behold, I have told you. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, Rejoice.
So they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me. Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.
When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldier saying, tell them his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure. So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Well, let us pray again. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Holy Scriptures.
We thank you for this account by the inspired Matthew concerning our risen Savior. We do pray that you would help us now to have minds focused upon, abandoned unto you, Lord God, the triune God, and your disclosed revelation here. We pray, Lord God, that you'd help us all to rejoice in the risen Savior, that your saints would find him as our chief comfort, and, Lord God, that sinners would bend the knee this morning unto that same risen King. We pray in Christ's name, amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said before, the doctrine of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is non-negotiable for the Christian. And again, why would we want it to be negotiable? It is central. It is vital.
It is something that cannot be ripped away from our profession. But rather, as the Apostle Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 15, it is foundational to our preaching, to our faith. And so we're going to look this morning at, and you've heard this phraseology before, the historical veracity of the resurrection. That language again, what does that mean?
Well, of course, historical means having to do with the past, events pertaining to the past. Veracity means the certain truthfulness of a thing. And so when we study the historical veracity of the resurrection, we are studying the certain truth that the bodily resurrection most certainly took place in the past as the Bible infallibly sets forth. And so we're going to study the historical veracity of the resurrection under two main points.
Three general arguments and two specific evidences. Three general arguments and two specific evidences. Using, of course, Matthew 28 and his account as a launching pad for our study in the resurrected Christ. But to open with a quote, From Robert Raymond, Jesus was crucified as an insurrectionist by Roman authorities at the instigation of the Jewish religious leaders.
Few, if any, would deny this today. But in Paul's words, he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. This quotation highlights what may well be taken as the major theme of both the New Testament and church proclamation. The bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ took place just as the Bible sets it forth to us in simple and great clarity.
Three General Arguments
The first under three general arguments, we notice the historical veracity of the resurrection by the character of the scriptures. By the character of the scriptures.
The Character of Scripture
This is very important to notice and to glory in and to remember as Christians that our Bibles, the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, do not come to us as ancient and dusty tomes of antiquated precepts and supposed facts. They are not a mythological deposit of the opinions and the fancies of small-minded men. The scriptures come to us as the God-breathed, infallible, and inerrant Word of God, wholly capable of giving all that we need for faith and life. The scriptures are, as the confession sets forth, the only sufficient, certain and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience, containing the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life.
Wonderful description, definition of what the scriptures are and the character and sufficiency and perfection of the scriptures. The scriptures bear attributes that demand we recognize their divine origin. If you ever want a wonderful packaged paragraph that describes the Bible's self-authenticating character and authority, you can read the Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, Paragraph 5. Wonderful language regarding the perfections and the attributes of God's revealed will and word. the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the heavenliness of the matter it opens up with.
All of these wonderful excellencies of the Holy Scriptures are such that argue for its God-breathedness and its authority of divine origin. And so the first general argument is simply the character of the Holy Scriptures By virtue of what the Holy Scriptures are, inerrant, infallible, and inspired, the account of the resurrection is, therefore, most certainly true at all its points.
The Straightforward Gospel Accounts
Secondly, by the straightforward account of the Gospels. The historical veracity of the resurrection is clear by the straightforward account of the Gospels. The four Gospels that we have, again, Don't come to us in the flavor of poetry or fiction or myth. There is no once upon a time.
There are no vagaries of a long time ago in a land far away, a certain person, et cetera, et cetera. but we have clarity to the straightforward account of the Gospels. There is particular and peculiar and deliberate attention to names, attention to geography, attention to architecture, etc. For example, turn to the book of Luke for a moment. Turn to the book of Luke and chapter 2.
The gospel writers, in setting forth the account, the true and most certain account of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, his life, his death, his resurrection and ascension, go to simple but yet great pains to include information for anyone who may doubt, detailed information for anyone who may attack the scriptures and say they are simply mythological literature for hope filled people. Luke chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Never skip past these parts, brethren, as you read the scriptures. Because Luke is simply giving a narrative of what was going on in the life and times of Christ's birth narrative here, of his birth. the rulers that were in place, the geography related to the area. All of these details are given, arguing most certainly for the clarity and the veracity of the account.
Turn a little bit to the right, Luke chapter 3, verse 1. Now in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius, Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, etc. You can read the rest of it on your own time, but the gospel writers, brethren, are not saying once upon a time in a land far, far away there lived a really good fellow. They go to great detail under the inspiration of God to show that there really was a Christ, that he really did die for the sins of his people, that he really did rise again the third day according to the scriptures, and that he ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high. the historical veracity of the resurrection is clear by the straightforward account of the Gospels.
The Authors' Stated Truthfulness
Third, and related to the second, but third, the historical veracity of the resurrection is seen by the tenor and clarity of the authors regarding the truthfulness of the accounts. You see, if this was simply the authors penning an interesting story by the use of geography, architecture, names and various details. That would be one thing. But we have the scriptures coming to us and the authors, by the tenor and the clarity of their writing, show us the truthfulness of these accounts.
Notice in the book of Luke, if you are still there, verses one to four. In as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." Isn't that wonderful? The language in here, brethren, is It ought to bring us great joy and great comfort as people whose faith and whose preaching depend upon the historical veracity of the accounts of our religion. We have eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivering the account of this Christ to them.
We have Luke arguing that he had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. We have him wanting to set out to deliver an orderly account. And we have the purpose, which is that most excellent Theophilus, and by virtue of the scriptures given us, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you are instructed. We can know Christians with certainty that our Lord Jesus Christ really and truly rose from the dead.
In the book of 2 Peter, there's wonderful language that Peter uses also, brethren. You see, the atheists, the agnostics, the enemies of Christianity like to mock us and taunt us and poke us with that ungodly stick that this Christ is a myth and that your religion is a myth, that it is a cunningly devised fable. Peter writes in his epistle, in his second epistle, for we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty." Isn't that glorious? Isn't that wonderful for the vitality, for the truthfulness, for the vindication of our faith before an unbelieving world?
We did not follow cunningly devised fables. You see, there were cunningly devised fables, going around at that time, just as there are today. People in the sinfulness and the depravity of their hearts like to propagate anything other than the truth of an incarnate, crucified and risen Christ. Peter proclaims, though, that we don't follow after fables like these people planting seeds of madness, seeds of idolatry and seeds of ungodly religion.
These cunningly devised fables of many gods going around and that sort of thing. But no, we did not follow cunningly devised fables, but rather we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. The tenor and the clarity of the authors regarding the truthfulness of the accounts is a general argument, the third general argument for the historical veracity of the resurrection.
Two Specific Evidences
Now moving to two specific arguments that we have two specific arguments for the historical veracity of the resurrection. First, it is the empty tomb.
The Empty Tomb
First specific argument for the historical veracity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the empty tomb. All four Gospels record a tomb that is empty. All four Gospels record an empty tomb and a body having disappear. So we have the harmony and the consistency of the gospel accounts given to us and isn't the empty tomb a glorious thing as we move to the second the second point of evidence.
We'll notice and we'll understand obviously why we already understand as Christians. But the empty tomb, brethren, we ought to rejoice in that empty tomb because of what it represents. And we'll look at that tonight, the salvific implications of the resurrection. But it means our sins are forgiven.
You see, if there's still a body in that tomb, if we want to shake hands with the liberal so-called Christian and say, well, you know, resurrection is a take it or leave it doctrine. As long as we get all fluffy and all fuzzy and get fuzzy feelings about the Christ events in our own little way and whatever it means to us and the futility of our minds, then that's great. Then we're dead in our trespasses and in our sins. Because if it is taken or leave it, and if there was a body in that tomb and the stone was still rolled over the opening of it to this day, we are dead in our trespasses and in our sins.
We might as well leave this church right now and go do whatever, because there is no risen Christ. There is no legitimacy to Christianity. There is no fullness to preaching and the faith that we profess. But Christ is risen.
But Christ is risen. That tomb is empty, and it is empty to this day. Now, the enemies of Christianity like to visit upon us Christians many arguments for the empty tomb. Because there may be few exceptions out there, but even godless historians will acknowledge that there was an empty tomb, that this body of Jesus Christ did truly disappear, never to be found.
But you see, they'll offer up many arguments as to what actually happened, because God forbid that we believe what God says. We can't believe this document. perfect in its clarity, perfect in its certainty, detailed in its delivery. No, we can't believe that. We need to conjure up various arguments in order to suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Answering Objections to the Empty Tomb
One argument is that they could have got the wrong tune. The disciples could have got the wrong tune, which is just ridiculous to say. But let's just suppose for a moment that they got the wrong tune. They ran to this wrong tune. saw it empty, and then began this journey into the creation of a new religion.
Well, the Jews and the Romans, enemies of Christianity, would most certainly have jumped all over that. The tomb's right there. The tomb's right there. This growing religion, growing in its force, growing in its influence.
Let's squash it. The tomb's right there. Let's roll over the stone. There's your Christ.
No, Christ had risen from the tomb and they knew where it was. In fact, you can make a note, Matthew 27, 61, Mary Magdalene is waiting outside the tomb. So we don't have a problem with the possibility of getting the wrong tomb. A second supposition or a second submission as to an explanation for the empty tomb is that the body could have been stolen.
And this is the most prominent argument against the resurrection of Jesus Christ out there. The body could have been stolen. In fact, in our text, in Matthew 28, we have a conspiracy being delivered in order to squash or to quell the claims of the early Christians. In Matthew 28, we read that particular part.
Tell them his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure. So you see, they acknowledge the empty tomb. They didn't know how to answer anything.
And so they engage in this collusion to quell the influence of Christianity and the truth of the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But let's just let's just take three possibilities here with regards to this stolen body theory. First it could have been the Jews and Romans that they would argue that stole the body of the Lord Jesus Christ from the tomb. We need to ask ourselves why would the Jews and the Romans want to steal a body from the tomb.
It would give credence, in a sense, to the arguments of the Christians. But you see, if the early Christians knew that either the Jews or the Romans, or they both in collusion, stole the body of Jesus Christ, why would they then go out with great boldness and proclaim this fraud about a risen Christ, knowing that at any time the Jews and Romans could produce the body? The Jews and the Romans did not steal the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because according to the scriptures, he rose again the third day in great glory.
What about the disciples? The argument according to the Jews or the conspiracy according to the Jews was to say that his disciples came by night to steal the body. So if the if the disciples were to steal a body, let's just forget for a moment the possibility examining the possibility that they could never do that. It was under Roman guard.
It was under a close watch and all of those sorts of things. But let's just say the disciples did steal the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to propagate their religion. Well, first off, it would be it's startling to read the scriptures, if that's the case, and to find these early Christians dying for this fraudulent faith. Going out and proclaiming the crucified and resurrected Messiah, going to the point of martyrdom, having their heads lopped off for their risen King, but based on a fraudulent foundation.
It's madness. It's absolute madness. We come to the pages of the Holy Scriptures, and what do we find? We find the apostles based upon justification by faith and upon the fact of believers' unity to the Lord Jesus Christ, go therefore and conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel." What does that have to do with the resurrection?
Well, would they preach that sort of religious message from the foundation of a fraudulent resurrection? No doubt, given the human mind, given the nature and depravity of man, They would have launched forth into some sort of Gnostic religion where they were the heads, where they were the Roman Catholics, if you will, ruling over the little people. You look to me. We found the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This body was resurrected. And he said to us that you need to give us your silver and gold. You need to give us X, Y, and Z. You need to render unto us religious homage.
That's the heart of man from fraudulent religious foundations. But you see, Jesus Christ did rise from the dead. Jesus Christ truly is risen. Thirdly, what about robbers?
I'm not making this stuff up, brethren. There are claims out there trying to explain away the empty tomb and the resurrected Christ. that grave robbers came and stole the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the same problem of guards and the watchful eyes that were cast upon the closed tomb. But let's just cast that aside for a moment.
Grave robbers generally don't steal bodies. In fact, dead bodies in tombs is sort of a job hazard. for grave robbers. They don't want anything to do with the body. They come to the tomb to steal the booty that's in the grave, to steal in the Greco-Roman world the coins of Caesar planted upon the eyes, to steal the gold and the silver and the bronze and whatever else that's in the tomb that's left there for payment to cross the River Styx or whatever it might be.
And grave robbers aren't going to come When we read in John there, grave robbers aren't going to come and fold handkerchiefs. They're coming to steal the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before we leave, let's fold the face cloth. Grave robbers don't do that.
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ was not stolen by grave robbers out of the tomb. Christ truly is risen, as the Scripture said, and as the prophecies pointed and proclaimed, Jesus Christ is truly risen. And some of the arguments, just on a related but a side note, brethren, a lot of God haters will argue against the resurrection based upon some argument for first century ignorance. And you see, what that really is, that's bragging and that's conceit that the 21st century world is, we have it all together.
We're smarter. We're more progressive. We've advanced. We're intelligent. and that sort of thing, and, oh, those people back in the first century would believe anything.
Well, we come to the Holy Scriptures, and first off, we really don't see that at all. We see a handful of believers at the outset of Christianity believing in this message of a crucified and risen Messiah. Multitudes rejecting, the majority rejecting, in hardness of heart, against anything God, we see the exact opposite. But I really want you to go home today and type in something on the internet like, girl trips over curb texting.
This might sound silly, but brethren, people have always been stupid. People have always been affected by the madness and the hardness of their hearts. Today we are not more progressed, we are not more intelligent, In fact, I would argue, though, yes, we have iPods and iPhones and i-whatevers, we're a lot dumber than we used to be back then. We have technological progression, but we don't have ethical or intellectual progression.
But suffice it to say, we don't have, in the scriptures, multitudes believing in the ignorance of their minds. But rather, we have multitudes unbelieving because of the sinfulness of their hearts. The only thing that can change that is the victorious and amazing and conquering grace of the triune God. So the risen Christ truly was risen.
Jesus Christ was truly bodily resurrected from the grave. There was no wrong tomb. There was no stolen body. And lastly, thirdly, under the empty tomb, There was no swooning Jesus.
You've heard this before in sermons before from this pulpit. There is the swooning theory. And what this theory supposes is that Jesus Christ truly didn't die upon the cross, but he entered into some comatose type state. And then three days later was revived, physically revived by whatever the passing of time, rolled the stone away, marched out and engaged in his post-crucifixion appearances.
Well, aside from, again, the fact that the scriptures set forth something different, it's mad to believe because, first off, we're talking about a crucified and beaten and battered Messiah who comes in his post-crucifixion appearances, and we read that he has full faculties And is it in us? I don't want to say in a sense, but is in appearance perfect in appearance. And so we don't have this this semi comatose savior and also three days in a grave and then being somehow physically revived. We have no water.
We have no food. We would have a feeble Jesus coming out and and seeking help. If this was the case, it pains me to even speak this way. Blasphemy, to suppose this as an explanation for the empty tomb.
We have a Jesus, strong and mighty, with full faculties, coming with glory, visiting, appearing before his disciples, and charging them with the marching orders of Christianity. Also, with regards to the swooning Jesus, and you've heard this before, the Romans were experts at their craft. The Romans were experts at putting people to death and verifying that the people that they put to death are truly dead. They did this with our Lord and with our King upon the cross.
Jesus went into the tomb, dead. Jesus rose three days later, alive, resurrected, risen with great victory, great honor, and great glory.
Post-Crucifixion Appearances
The last specific evidence with regards to the historical veracity of the resurrection is the post-crucifixion appearances of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible records ten of them. The Bible records five post-crucifixion appearances on that Easter day, on that day of the resurrection. It records five post-crucifixion resurrections in the 40 days leading up to his ascension.
The Holy Scriptures are not silent that the risen Lord Jesus Christ really and truly did appear to his disciples and to many. So this answers the question, the post-crucifixion appearances of Christ answers the question, if there was no body in the tomb, If it could not have been stolen and if there could not have been a later real death of a revived Christ, then what happened? This answers the question. Our Lord Jesus Christ rose again the third day according to the scriptures and was seen.
Four Notes on the Appearances
Four brief notes and then we'll close with some application and prayer. but four brief notes regarding the post-crucifixion appearances of our Lord and Savior. First, the frequency of the appearances. The frequency of the appearances. Again, five appearances of the risen Jesus on the day of his resurrection and five appearances during the 40 days leading to his ascension.
You see, we need to note, brethren, and find great confidence in the fact that we are not believing in the stuff of the Sasquatch. where there is a blurry fake photo of some sort of creature bounding across logs. We have the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen and glorified Savior, appearing multiple times with great clarity. The diversity of appearances. We have the Lord.
And in fact, turn to first Corinthians for a moment. The diversity of appearances. We have the frequency of the appearances of our post crucifixion savior. And we have the diversity of appearances.
First Corinthians, chapter 15. First Corinthians, chapter 15. Verse 3, for I deliver to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the 12. After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, Then last of all, he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time." You see, Christianity is not Mormonism. We don't have to rely on the accounts of a teenager who, you know, saw an angel and dug up some golden tablets. We have the Lord Jesus Christ with frequency of appearance and diversity of appearance. As Raymond notes, he appears to individuals, pairs, small groups and large assemblies.
He appears to both women and men. He appears in public and in private at different times of the day in Jerusalem and Galilee. You see, we don't have a secret appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ that one person can claim and then launch a religion. We have the Lord Jesus Christ by divine design and according to the immutable decrees of the triune God coming and appearing frequently and to many people and in many places and at many times of the day and in public and in private.
Thirdly, we have the clarity of the appearances. We have the clarity of the appearances. And this is seen in a few things. First off, He is seen and identified as Jesus.
Again, we don't have a blurry memory of a man in a white cloak sprinting across the street in Jerusalem. That's Jesus. He's risen from the dead. No, we have him being seen and identified as the Lord Jesus Christ.
Secondly, he is heard and spoken to. I mean, he appears directly in front of his disciples. He has heard and he has spoken to and he responds, our precious savior. And his his responses and his interactions with his disciples.
So gracious, isn't it? He appears to them after they had pretty much not pretty much after they had scattered, after they are characterized by doubt and by fear and by loss. He had said to them on more than one occasion, truly the Son of God goes as it has been determined. He must be delivered up into the hands of wicked men.
He must be crucified. And on the third day, rise again. He told this to them on many occasions. And after his crucifixion, our Lord is gone.
The Jews and the Romans have put him to death. Woe is us, was the cry. of the post-crucifixion disciples. But that was quickly changed into, He is risen. He is risen.
And why? Because the Lord Jesus appears to them and He doesn't indict them. He doesn't charge them with having a lack of faith. And He doesn't beat them up because He's our gracious Savior.
But He says rejoice. He says rejoice. I am risen. Thirdly, We see the clarity of the appearances by his very invitation, by the fact that he invites his disciples to touch him.
Remember, and this is another example, brethren, of our gracious and our patient Savior. Our post-crucified, resurrected Redeemer comes, he appears, he speaks to the disciples. They nevertheless are still unbelieving and doubtful. And you go, OK, if you don't believe by casting your eyes upon me and hearing my voice, then touch me, feel me, see and touch that it is me, that it truly is I, Christ, risen from the dead.
They do that. But that's not enough for the doubtful heart and for the fearful follower. We need more, don't we? So what else does Jesus Christ do?
He eats honeycomb and fish before them. I'm not a phantasm. I'm not a specter. I'm not a dream.
You can touch me and see. I take and I eat. The Lord Jesus Christ, by that very invitation to touch him, he quells the tyranny of doubt. He quells the tyranny of fear.
He shows his disciples that as promised, he truly is risen.
Result: Transformation of the Disciples
And fourthly, the result of the appearances. the result of the appearances. You see, another proof. And again, I say proof from the text of Holy Scripture, another proof the scriptures give us with regards to the truthfulness, the veracity of the resurrection is the transformation of the disciples, the transformation of the disciples. Many unbelieving, ungodly opposers to the Christian religion, to our blessed truth, Nevertheless, acknowledge that this is a tough one.
That's right, because it's true. Truth hurts and truth is always tough. The disciples are extremely doubtful, extremely fearful, even though the Lord Christ had reminded them time and time again, they nevertheless are affected by great doubt and by great fear after his crucifixion. But what's the change that how do we how can we have Peter before the trial of our Lord Jesus Christ denying him three times calling down upon himself in a sense the the curse of God saying, I do not know this man.
I do not know this man. I do not know this man. How can we find that Peter in the gospel accounts? And then fast forward to Acts chapter 2, where Peter, with boldness, points his fingers at the Jews and says, this Jesus, whom you crucified, has been made both Lord and Christ.
What happened? What happened to the stolen body? Of course, it doesn't make a change like that. Was it just that he decided, you know what, it's going to be a good thing.
It's going to be a good thing to get this religion going because of whatever. No, it was because that one that they thought, even though he promised, was going to remain dead in that tomb, rose again in power and victory the third day, as promised, and gives them love, gives them grace, gives them mercy, and gives them that charge to go there for, make disciples of all the nations. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. The change in the disciples, the disciples transformation from doubtful, fearful individuals to emboldened, courageous proclaimers of the risen Christ.
This is Raymond again. Nothing less than his actual resurrection can explain both the empty tomb and the disciples transformation from doubt and gloom to faith and the martyrs joy. And we neither should nor need look for another explanation as the ground of their Easter faith. You see, Peter proclaiming that you, Jewish listener, can know assuredly that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is both Lord and Christ.
The only reason that he can do that is yes, of course, by the grace of God. But if that Christ, made Lord and King, had truly risen from the dead. And brethren, what does this mean for the Christian?
Application
Well, like the early apostles in the latter accounts of the Gospels and the latter pages of each Gospel account, like Stephen cast his eyes into the heavens and said, behold, see the heavens opened and Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God, like Ignatius, who didn't care about him being nailed to a cross or being burnt in the fire or being torn apart by the horns of bulls or the teeth of lions, only that he may win Christ Jesus. Like all of our brethren throughout the ages, whether they were martyrs or whether they simply met their end at the expiry and cessation of their life to enter into glory, like all of our brothers and sisters throughout history, we find great comfort In this one, yes, died on the cross, but rose again the third day, the third day, great power and great glory. See, the comfort, brethren, that we have in Christ, please never set it aside for some other remedy or some other dealing with your problems. See, very often when we get down in the Christian walk, we Either we either throw ourselves into some sort of self-congratulatory loathing and lamentation.
We'll go for weeks with our heads down and just un-Christian. I don't want to say that we can never feel bad or be sad or anything like that, brethren, but the Bible and the truths of our risen and glorified Savior call us please don't spend much time in that place. Because if you do, you're casting away the remedy, which is a crucified and risen Savior. You see, when we're down in our Christian walk, and we get to the point where we're even doubting our own salvation, where do we often go?
Oh, you know what? I remember doing this to so-and-so, and that really helped them. And you know what? I've kept the law here.
And you know what? I haven't really been as bad as that person. And you know what? I actually have been to church pretty much every day this year.
Every Sunday this year. And this and that. We make a list of those things. Just like those people making the list before Christ.
Lord, Lord, have we not cast out demons in your name? You see, when we get down in our Christian walk and we doubt our Christianity, we don't look with our eyes upon ourselves. We look with eyes of faith upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and we say, Lord, reconfigure. Lord, realign.
My hope and my all and my everything is in you. To you I look. Help me, Lord. See, one man once said, one man, Albert N.
Martin, actually, once was preaching a sermon on justification, and the words stuck with me because they are so true. to quell the tyranny of antinomianism, to quell the tyranny of legalism when we are feeling down in our Christian walks. See, very often we like to look with at least one eye upon ourselves, to look inwardly. What's wrong with me? What can I reform?
What can I do? What can I do to prove to myself that I truly am a Christian walking with the Lord? He said, Albert M. Martin said, just as the Israelites in the wilderness did not look with one eye upon the brazen serpent and one eye upon their malady.
You see, the Israelites in the wilderness looked, were called to look with both eyes upon that brazen serpent and be remedied from their malady. So Albert N. Martin says, just like they were not to look with one eye upon the serpent and with one eye upon their sickness, so too the Christian is not to look with one eye upon their Savior and one eye upon their bosom, looking for the workings of regeneration in the Holy Spirit. But rather, they are to cast both eyes of faith upon the crucified and risen Savior and find all hope and all courage and all strength in that glorious Christ.
Brethren, if you're here today and you are Christ's, find such comfort in a resurrected Savior, such comfort. If you're here this morning, you're a saint and you have a saint, a father, a mother, grandfather, a grandmother, a child. If you have anyone that you know who's in Christ Jesus and is dying, there's going to be sadness. there's going to be this feeling of, you know, my loved one is departing this world. No more lunches, no more laughter, no more whatever it might be of joyful fellowship with that person.
But you see, like Stephen, like the Apostle Paul, like Ignatius, like all of these saints, they are going to cast Their eyes, not of faith, but eyes of sight upon the risen Christ. And we can find such comfort and such joy in that. And it's the same for us. We might not find ourselves dying today, dying next week, dying next month, dying next year.
But in this lower world, when trial comes, When testing comes, when tribulation comes, when persecution comes, we don't look to each other and we don't look to ourselves. We look to that one who rose the third day in victory and in power. Won't it be glorious when we actually do get to cast our eyes of sight upon the Savior? Brethren, our resurrected Savior still had the print of the nails in his hands.
He still had the mark of the spear in his side. Of course, he had the print of the nails on his feet. It's always been interesting to think about this. Jesus Christ was resurrected in his glorious body.
We, one day, will be like him in that sense, our glorified bodies. But Jesus in his glorified body, brethren, still had the print of the nails on his hands. You might think, well, is that a defect? Isn't a glorified body supposed to have The print of the nails taken away?
What's more glorious in a glorified resurrected Savior than to still have those marks of victory over sin, victory over death, victory over Hades, victory over the devil. The Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrected body has the print of the nails when we cast our eyes in Emmanuel's land upon our King of Grace. We'll see the print of the nails and rejoice in our crucified and resurrected Savior. If you're here this morning and you don't know this Jesus, I've got to ask the question, what is so ugly and wrong about this redeeming King who comes into the world to live a perfect life of submission to his Father, to die a perfect substitutionary death for the sins of his people, who rose again the third day, and who ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high.
Why would we want to quell the majesty and the glory of that truth? Why do enemies of Christianity want to attack this so rigorously? We know depravity. We know the sinfulness of the mind.
But isn't it a marvel? that we'll find an infinite amount of heroes everywhere else. You know, people are quicker to flick on Luongo than they are to open up their Bible and read about this crucified and risen Christ. Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, crucified King, Ascendant Magistrate. There's nothing ugly about Him.
Why would we want to cast Him out of our knowledge and out of our memory? Well, you see, the truth is, is that Christ's resurrection from the dead is the proof that he has made this one judge over the heavens and over the earth. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Those remaining in their sin and in their depravity have hearts that suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
They know that there is a judgment and the Bible tells us that God has given evidence or proof of the legitimacy of that final judgment by raising his son from the dead. Don't run from this risen Christ. Don't dangle and hang upon the madness and the folly of worldly religion and idolatry, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because nowhere else in any system of philosophy, any system of religion, is there an empty tomb with a resurrected and glorious King who saves sinners from their sins.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and you will find such comfort and joy in the risen Son. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the resurrection of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, from the dead. We thank you for what that tells us regarding salvation, regarding vindication of your truth, regarding the truthfulness of the word that you've given to us. I do pray, Lord, for all of these saints gathered here this morning. You would cause them to rejoice in their risen Savior, that day upon day we would have minds tasked upon that truth by divine aid that you'd help us to daily remember and glory in the Savior.
And I pray, Lord God, for those this morning who do not know you, who are outside of Christ in unbelief, that you would cause them, by your power, to bend a knee to our risen King, to find in Him their all in all, and to safely be found in the Lord Jesus Christ, professing along with us, hallelujah, what a Savior. We pray that around the world you would do that mighty act of salvation, calling sinners to yourself to the praise of your glorious grace. We pray, Lord, now that you would go with us, you would help us to walk in this lower world, conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of your glorious gospel. We might bring honor to you and that we might show others that there truly is a God in high heaven.
We pray in Christ's name. Amen.