Would you turn back to Mark chapter
nine while you're turning there. Mitch Brian's mother passed away
on Thursday and visitation will be tomorrow from noon until two
with the funeral service immediately following the visitation. It
will be at the People's Funeral Home 407 Shelby Street, Falmouth,
Kentucky, unless everybody remember their family. Mark chapter nine. I want to
begin reading in verse 2 now. And after six days Jesus taketh
with him Peter and James and John and leadeth them up into
a high mountain apart by themselves And he was transfigured before
them. And his raiment became shining,
exceeding white as snow. So as no fool on earth can whiten,
Matthew's account says his face shined as the sun. They saw something
they'd never seen before. Verse 4, And there appeared unto
them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Now
picture this in your mind. These three men, Peter, James,
and John, see the Lord transfigured His divinity burst through his
humanity. And two men are speaking with
him at this time, Moses and Elijah, men who appeared with him. Verse five. Before I read verse five, let
me remind you, we know what they were talking about. Luke's account
says they spake of the decease, which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem. No subject like that subject
is there. And Peter answered. Now this
is so typical of Peter. Nobody asked him anything. But
he answered, I can relate with that so much. Mouth pops off. And he makes an incredibly horrible statement. I don't think anything could
be said worse than the statement Peter makes. Master, it's good for us to be
here. Let us make three tabernacles. One for thee, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah. As I said, there could not be
a worse statement made. Three tabernacles? Who is Moses
in comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ? Who is Elijah in comparison
with the Lord Jesus Christ? Three tabernacles? For he wist not what to say,
for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my
beloved son, hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked
round about, they saw no man anymore, save Jesus only with
themselves. And as they came down from the
mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what
things they had seen. Now, I want you to think about
this. They saw the Lord transfigured, and he says, don't tell anybody
about it. I can't help but wonder if they obeyed that command. They should have, but I don't
know if they did. I would have a hard time not telling somebody
about seeing something like that. After all, you'll find out that
I'm one of the favored three if I tell you. Not everybody
got this privilege, but I did. And as they came down from the
mountain, he charged them they should tell no man what things
they had seen. till the Son of Man were risen
from the dead. And they kept that saying with
themselves, questioning one another what the rising from the dead
should mean. Now, the Lord had told them previously
that he would be rejected by the elders, the chief priests
and the scribes and be killed. And three days later, he would
rise from the dead. He then tells them after that
he was transfigured before them, that they were not to tell anybody
about it until after he was risen from the dead. And the language
is very important here. He doesn't say after he will
be raised from the dead, but after that he was risen from
the dead. That's in the active voice. The
son of God at this time is saying, I will raise myself from the
dead. You see, whatever the father
does, the son does. If the father raised Christ from the dead?
Christ raised himself from the dead. Their works cannot be separated. Don't tell anybody about this
until after I have raised myself from the dead. Now the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead is a historical fact. First Corinthians 15.6 tells
us that he was seen of 500 brethren at once. That would hold up in
court of law, wouldn't it? 500 eyewitnesses to his resurrection. Turn with me for a moment to
Acts chapter 26. This is the Apostle Paul speaking
beginning in verse 22. He's speaking to King Agrippa.
He says in Acts chapter 26, verse 22, having therefore obtained
help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both the
small and great saying none other things than those which the prophets
and Moses did say should come. Paul saying, I'm saying what
the Old Testament has always said. that Christ should suffer
and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead
and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. And
as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice,
Paul, you're beside yourself. You're crazy. Much learning does
make thee mad. But he said, I'm not mad, most
noble Festus. But speak forth the words of
truth and soberness, for the King knoweth, King Agrippa, he
knows of these things, before whom also I speak freely. For
I'm persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for
this thing, the crucifixion of Christ, the resurrection of Christ,
was not done in a corner. It was not done in a corner.
There's something public about all of this. Now, the Lord, when He was raised
from the dead, never appeared to an unbeliever. Did you know
that? He only appeared to believers. And when we think, wouldn't it
have been more effective to appear before unbelievers and then they
would see that He was raised from the dead? You know, if he appeared here
physically this morning, that would not make anybody believe. You don't believe because of
something you see. You believe when he makes himself
known to you. Do you remember in Luke chapter
16, when the man said, if one rose from the dead, they believe
they'd repent. And Abraham said, if they don't
believe the prophets, if they don't believe the word, they
won't believe the one rose from the dead. Now, Peter said that the apostles
were witnesses, eyewitnesses of the resurrection. And listen
to this. I speak. as a witness of the
resurrection. If you're a believer you speak
as a witness of the resurrection. because you know the living Lord. You're just as much a witness
as Peter and James and John because you know the risen Lord. And the reason you know the risen
Lord is because he has made himself known to you. You know that. If you know him, It's because
He first knew you and made Himself known to you. And we speak as
a witness. I'm speaking right now as a witness.
I know the Lord. Now, you can choose to not believe. And unbelief's a choice, isn't
it? If I don't believe, it's because I choose not to believe.
Now, if I believe, I believe because I have no choice. And
you know that. If you believe, you cannot not
believe. You don't have any choice. You
believe because you know it's so. But if you do not believe,
it's because you choose to not believe. You know, turn to Matthew
chapter 27 for a moment. You know, on at least five different
occasions, maybe more, but we have five different times recorded
in the gospels where Christ told his disciples that he would be
raised from the dead. And even his enemies knew this.
Look in chapter 27, Matthew, verse 62. Now, the next day that followed,
the day after the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees
came together into Pilate saying, sir, we remember that that deceiver
said while he was yet alive, after three days, I will rise
again. I mean, even the enemies knew
that. This was common knowledge that he had made this claim. What'd they say? Command, therefore,
that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his
disciples come by night and steal him away, and saying to the people,
he's risen from the dead, so that the last error shall be
worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, you have
a watch, go your way. I love this statement. Make it
as sure as you can. Could they prevent this from
taking place? No. No. When the writer to the Hebrews
mentioned the first principle of the doctrine of Christ, one
of the things he mentioned was the resurrection from the dead. Now this is fundamental to the
gospel. The resurrection from the dead. There are three resurrections
spoken of in scripture. Number one, the bodily resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. And I love to think about that.
You know, they put a dead corpse in that tomb. Dead, graveyard
dead, plumb dead. He lays in a grave, three days,
dead. And all of a sudden, his heart
pumps. His lungs heave. He opens his
eyes, raised from the dead. The bodily resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. And then we read of the spiritual
resurrection that every believer experiences. And you hath he
quickened, and you hath he given life to, who were dead in trespasses
and sins. There's the second resurrection.
When a man's dead in sins and God gives him life. And the third resurrection is
that great resurrection that'll happen on the last day. when
everybody will be raised from the dead, some to the resurrection
of life and others to the resurrection of damnation. And that's what
the Lord calls it in John chapter five, the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. Now, let me say this. If Christ
was not raised from the dead, that would mean he's a liar.
That would mean the Bible cannot be believed. That would mean
his death is meaningless and accomplish nothing. But he is
risen. I speak as a witness. He is risen. Now there was a specific day,
some 2,000 years ago, that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem
on a certain day, a calendar day. In answer to the ancient
prophecy, behold, a virgin shall be with child. Don't miss that. A virgin shall
be with child. Now somebody says, how could
that be? Well, Mary said that too when they told her you're
going to have a baby. He said, how can this be then, seeing I know not a man?
With God, nothing shall be impossible. Now Christ had to be born of
a virgin, because if he wasn't born of a virgin, that'd mean
he had the same nature that you and I have. He'd be a sinful
man like you and I. But he was born of a virgin. How do you expect me to believe
that? With God, nothing shall be impossible. I don't have any harder time
believing that than I believe that God created the universe. Now, I would have a hard time
believing that life somehow through a mixture of chemicals in some
primordial stew all of a sudden, there it is. I have a hard time
believing that. But God He is. And God created
the universe. With God, nothing shall be impossible.
Christ, the Son of God, was born of a virgin, conceived by the
Holy Ghost. And for 30 years, He lived in
obscurity. Don't you love thinking about
His 30 years when nobody knew who He was, really? He was a
carpenter. He was A nobody. And in that 30 year period, Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God, nobody got it, but that's
who he was, that's who he is. He lived a perfect life. Now everybody can tell something's
wrong with this world. Something's wrong. Whether it was one man, who lived
a perfect life, who never sinned. He never had a sinful thought.
He never had a sinful desire. He never had a sinful motive.
He lived without sin for 30 years, keeping God's law perfectly,
and nobody got it. That's what's amazing, that shows
us how little the natural man knows about what holiness is. They don't know it when they
see it. That's why I've said, I've always, I've heard somebody,
I think maybe the first person I heard say it was Henry Mahan,
but he said, somebody says, I want to see, I want people to see
Christ in me. Well, I do too, I understand
that, but they didn't see Christ in Christ. They're not gonna
see him in you. They don't understand, a natural
man doesn't understand They didn't understand the Lord Jesus Christ. 30 years. Nobody got it. Then he begins his public ministry
some three and a half years later. And I love the way he began with
the Sermon on the Mount. in that Sermon on the Mount,
greatest sermon, I guess anything in the Bible is the greatest
sermon ever preached. I don't want to say, pick out one over
another, but I've still said Sermon on the Mount is the greatest
sermon ever preached. And in this sermon, the Lord tells us,
declares to us, who is blessed. He's got the authority to do
that. Blessed are the poor. That's not what the world would
ever say. Blessed are they that mourn. That's not what the world
would say. Blessed are the meek. The Lord
declares who is blessed. And I love in that sermon, five
or six times, he says, you've heard it said of them of old.
And then he quoted scripture. But I say unto you. Now you wouldn't talk about authority.
He says, I'm the one who tells what the Bible means. I wrote
it. I know it. And it means what
I say it means. That is authority. Matter of
fact, when the people heard it, they were astonished at his doctrine.
For he spake as one having authority. Now that doesn't mean he spake
in a big, booming voice. That means everything he said
recommended itself as the very truth of God. Not as the scribes, not as the
religious elite. Everything they said was ridiculous. But he spake as one having authority. Now on numerous occasions during
his time here on earth, people would hear him preach
and become so enraged they tried to kill him. Remember in Luke
chapter 4, that's what we considered last week, they were so filled
with anger, they grabbed him, took him up to the top of the
city to throw him down, to kill him. But he passed him through
their midst. How many times did he preach? And they'd pick up
stones to stone him. They would become so enraged
at what he had to say, but they couldn't do it. You know why
their murder attempts failed? Because his time was not yet
gone. But there was a time when he
said, Father, The hour is come. The hour is come. The reason he came. Now understand
this, Jesus Christ came to die. He didn't come to start a religion. He didn't come to set an example.
He came to die. The hour is come. He was nailed to a cross and he died. The Son of God He who is life died. When they took him down from
the cross, they took a corpse down from the cross. The Son of God died. Now there's only one reason for
death. What is it? Sin. By one man, sin entered into
the world, and death by sin, so that death passed upon all
men, in that all have sin. There's one reason for death.
Sin. There is no other reason. Somebody
says he died of cancer. No, he died of sin. He died of
a heart attack. No, he died of sin. When I die,
there's one reason I die. I'm a sinner. When you die, it'll
be because you're a sinner. Now, didn't you just say that
this man never sinned? Yes, I did say that. He never,
ever sinned. But I think that perhaps what
illustrates to us his death more than anything else is the fact
that there were three crosses on Calvary's Hill that day. Three
crosses. Three men nailed to a cross.
one man dying in his sin. As he lived, he died in hatred
and rebellion. He hated Jesus Christ. He hated
God. He died in His sin. And that means He spends eternity
under the judgment and wrath of God Almighty. He died in His
sins. What a terrifying thought. He
died in His, God's just. God's holy. He died in His sins. The other, in the middle cross,
we have a man dying for sins. What do you mean by that? Well,
there's a man that dies unto sin, and the reason he dies unto
sin, that thief who said, Lord, remember me when you come into
your kingdom, The reason he's died unto sin is because his
sin was transferred to that man on the cross, and he is dying
for sin. Now the reason a believer, the
reason Paul can say to a believer, reckon yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin, is because when Jesus Christ died for my sin,
I'm dead to sin. Sin has nothing to say to me,
he put it away. He made it not to be, and I'm dead to sin. Well, don't you feel its influence? Of course I do, but I'm dead
to it anyway because Jesus Christ paid for my sins. They're gone.
He died for sin. He died as a sin bearing substitute. And when they put him in that
cross or in that tomb, they did so because he was The wages of
sin is death, but let me say something about his death. He
did something that none of us will ever do when he died. He never went through the process
of decay. Very significant. He never went
through the process of decay, and he said in Psalm 16, thou
will not leave my soul in hell, neither shalt thou suffer thy
holy one to see corruption. Now, he died, and how mysterious
is that? That the God-man could die in
the first place. How did he die? I don't know,
but he did. He did. And he never went through the
process of decay, and there's a reason. Because he, in his
death, completely satisfied God. I don't even like talking about
hell. But I know this, hell is eternal. And the reason hell is eternal
is because the punishment is never sufficient to satisfy for
the crime that was committed Killing the Son of God. Somebody says, I didn't do that.
Yeah, you did. Yeah, you did. You do it now. I'd do it now
if God didn't prevent it. He looks into the heart. And
hell is eternal because God's justice can never be satisfied.
But Jesus Christ satisfied the justice of God. Why was he raised from the dead? Now remember the disciples, I
like to think of it, John said to Peter, did you hear what he
said? James, what did he mean? I bet they said that all the
time. I bet if ever not, when they'd get together, maybe the
Lord was off praying and they'd say, what did he mean by that?
And that's what they were saying here with regard to the resurrection.
What did he mean by that? Why must he be raised from the
dead? Now, I want you to turn to John
chapter 20. John chapter 20. Verse one. The first day of the
week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the
sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other
disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They've taken
away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they've
laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple,
and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together, and
the other disciple did outrun Peter. and came first to the
sepulchre, and he stooping down, looking in, saw the linen clothes
lying, yet went he not in? Then come a Simon Peter following,
and he went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the
linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went
in also the other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre,
and he saw and believed, for as yet They knew not the scripture,
and this is what I want you to see, as yet they knew not the
scripture that he must rise again from the dead. He must. It was absolutely necessary that
he rise again from the dead. Now, why was it necessary? First reason. Because it's God's
purpose. It's God's eternal purpose. That's why it's necessary. Him
being delivered. By the determinant counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken and with wicked hands have
crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loose
the power of death, because it was not possible that he should
beholden of it. The reason Christ was raised
from the dead is because it was the eternal purpose of God. Now, not only is He called in
Revelation 13, 8, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Now, hear what that verse says. It says before there was a creation,
before there was a universe, before me or you were around,
Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world and
the purpose of God. Not only is He the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, He's the Lamb raised from the
foundation of the world. And God's people have always
been viewed in the Lamb from before time began. That is why He was raised from
the dead. The purpose of God Almighty. Now, don't forget this. The reason this universe was
created was so that Jesus of Nazareth could be born, live,
die, and be raised from the dead. That is God's eternal purpose. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason he must be raised
from the dead is because of what he actually accomplished by his
death. Remember how Moses and Elijah,
I've already quoted this from Luke 9 31, they spake of the
decease which he should accomplish. My death, what will I accomplish
by death? Showing what I am. sinful what did he accomplish by his
death he accomplished something listen to this scripture romans
chapter 4 verse 25 says he was delivered for our offenses and
raised again For our justification, this is what he accomplished
by his death, burial, and resurrection, the complete justification of
everybody he died for. That poor old publican in the
temple, God be merciful to me, the sinner. You know what the
Lord said about that man? He said, I tell you, that man went
down to his house justified. You know what that means? He
went down to His house having never sinned. Perfectly righteous. How can
that be? Because of the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. My sin became His sin on the
cross. He owned it as His own. That's
why the Father killed Him. He wasn't dying innocent. He
was dying guilty as charged when my sin became his sin. But he did something that no
other man could do. He satisfied the justice of God
so that everybody he died for is justified. Now, let me say
this by way of explanation. Jesus Christ died for the elect.
Somebody says, didn't he die for all men without exception?
No. Now, why are you making a point of that? Well, he did, but here's
the point. If you say he died for all men
without exception, and some of those men end up being damned,
that's the same as saying that his death is not enough to save.
His life is not enough to save. I don't have anything to do with
anything like that. That means I won't be saved. But listen
to this, it's Christ that died. That's the only, that's all I
need. If Christ died for me, it's because
of who died. It's Christ that died. Because
Christ died for me, I'm not going to die. You know, there was a
man that was a missionary, and he was trying to see if the people
who he was trying to preach to understood what he said. And
he asked one man, he said, well, he said, he die or me die. He died. Me no die. That's the
gospel. If Christ put my sin away, I'm
secure. He satisfied God. He made the way for God to be
just and justifier of him which believe it. Why did he die? Well,
Romans 14, nine says, to this end, Christ both died and rose
and revived, that he might be Lord, both of the dead and the
living. I love this. You know, he's the Lord of the
dead. They don't know it. He's still their Lord. You belong
to Him. If you're dead in sins right
now, your salvation is up to Him. You're in His hand. He can
do with you whatever He's pleased to do, whatever He does is right.
He's the Lord of the dead. Somebody says, He's not my Lord.
You just don't know what He is. He is. You know, there are sheep
and there are goats, but they're His goats, aren't they? They're
His goats. He's Lord of the dead. Oh, He's
Lord of the living. He's my Lord. Thomas said, my
Lord and my God. The only way, turn to 1 Peter
chapter three, let me give you some scriptures to end with.
1 Peter chapter three, give me about three or four minutes.
1 Peter chapter three. Somebody says, my conscience
is clear. Well, either it's seared or you're
just lying. One of the two. My conscience is clear. Well, there is a way to have
a clear conscience. Look in 1 Peter 3, verse 21. The like figure whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, not the act of going underwater, But the answer
of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. You know the only thing that
gives me a satisfied good conscience is the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. My sin's gone. Good conscience. In Romans chapter 10, two other
scriptures I want you to look at, Romans chapter 10. Verse six, but now the righteousness,
which is faith speaketh on this wise, say not in your heart,
who shall ascend into heaven that is to bring Christ down
from above. Don't say in your heart, what
can I do to get Christ to come down here and do something for
me? Don't say that. That's putting something before
faith. That's exactly what that's doing. Don't put anything before
faith. Verse 7, or who shall descend
into the deep, that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead?
Don't say, what can I do to make what he did work for me? Once
again, that's putting a step before faith. There's not steps
into the kingdom of heaven. Don't say, what can I do to get
him to do something for me? Just strike that out of your
mind. Don't say it. But what sayeth it? Verse 8.
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, the
word of faith which we preach. Oh, listen, the word is so very
close. It's so near you right now. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart,
that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved. Now that doesn't simply mean
you believe in the physical resurrection of Christ. You have some understanding
as to why he was raised from the dead. He was raised from
the dead because he did what the Father told him to do. You
see, God is satisfied with me. He looks at me and he says, I'm
satisfied with him. I'm not looking for anything
else. Why? because of the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead. He put away my sin, he made my
sin to not be, he gave me his very righteousness, and God looks
at me and says, I'm satisfied. One last scripture, 1 Corinthians
15. Verse 12. Now, if Christ be preached that
he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there's no
resurrection of the dead? Now, in the church of Corinth,
you had people actually saying this. There's no resurrection
of the dead. Somebody said, could that happen in a true church? Well, it did
there. It did there. Now, Paul talks about the implications
of that. But if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ be not risen,
then our preaching is vain. It's a waste of time. And your
faith is also vain. It won't save you. Yea, and we
are found false witnesses of God, because we've testified
of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up, if so
be that the dead rise not. We're false witnesses. For if
the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised? And if Christ be
not raised, your faith is vain. You're yet in your sins. You
can stand before God in judgment in your sins. Then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. They're all in
hell. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we're all
men most miserable. But listen to this. Because he
has been raised from the dead, our preaching's not vain. Our faith is not in vain. We're not false witnesses. We're
true. If Christ has risen from the dead, we're not in our sins. Believers that have died are
in heaven in the very presence of Jesus Christ accepted. And
we are of all men, most happy. if Jesus Christ is risen from
the dead. Amen.