← Back to sermon library

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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? 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. 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.