As we continue to consider these
closing chapters in the Gospel according to Luke, we come now
to the last chapter, chapter 24. I want to read the opening verses,
verses 1 to 12 in Luke, chapter 24. Luke's account of the resurrection.
of Christ. Now upon the first day of the
week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre,
bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others
with them. And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulchre, and they entered in, and found not
the body of the Lord Jesus. And he came to pass, as they
were much perplexed thereabouts, Behold, two men stood by them
in shining garments, and as they were afraid and bowed down their
faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living
among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you
when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third
day rise again. And they remembered his words
and returned from the sepulchre and told all these things unto
the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna
and Mary the mother of James and other women that were with
them which told these things unto the apostle. And their words
seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then
arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre, and stooping down,
he beheld the linen clothes lay by themselves, and departed,
wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. The last time we considered that
closing portion of chapter 23, what we might describe as the
funeral of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have it recorded there
from verse 50 to verse 56. And there were those women who
were attendants at the funeral, we might say. verse 55 of chapter
23 the women also which came with him from Galilee followed
after and beheld the sepulcher and how his body was laid and
they returned and prepared spices and ointments and rested the
sabbath day according to the commandment but at the earliest
opportunity after the sabbath day was passed they hurried to
the grave, they hurried to the tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we see here in the opening
verse, it was upon the first day of the week, very early in
the morning, that they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices
which they had prepared. But then we see how they are
so perplexed and afraid, because when they arrived There's no
body. The tomb is empty. And then, as they stand there
so fearful, so confused, we're told how these men in shining
garments, these angels, come and speak to them in verses 5,
6 and 7. We have the words of the angels,
they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you
when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and a third
day rise again. And I want this morning to concentrate
your attention upon these words spoken to the women by the angel. And first of all we see here
how they affirm the great truth of the resurrection. What are
the first words that they speak onto these women? Well, they
tell them that he is not here, but is risen. Why seek ye the
living among the dead, they ask. He is not here, but is risen. Now in these words at the beginning
of the sixth verse then we see two things we have a negative
affirmation then a positive affirmation. They had seen Christ laid there
in the tomb that new tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea
They left the Lord Jesus there in that tomb, and now as they
come on this, the first day of the week, very early in the morning,
they expect that they will find that body where it had been laid
in that new tomb. But the angels tell them quite
clearly, he is not here. That is the negative affirmation
that they make then. They're looking for the Lord
Jesus Christ, but they're told quite plainly, quite clearly,
He is not here. However, of course it could be
that the body was somewhere else. When Mary, subsequently Mary
Magdalene, sees the Lord Jesus Christ, sees the risen Saviour,
as we have it recorded in John's account, She mistakes him, of
course, for the God. And she thinks that this man
is the one who has taken away the body of the Lord. There in John chapter 20. Verse
14, we're told how she saw Jesus standing and knew not that it
was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing
him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne
him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. He's not in the tomb. As this
man, this gardener, Has he taken away the body? Has he removed
it? Has he laid the body somewhere else? Now we know also that the
Jewish authorities did bribe the soldiers that they would
say to every who enquired that his disciples had come by night
and they'd taken away the body. In Matthew chapter 28 verse 11
following That's how the Jewish authorities
tried to explain away the fact that Christ's body was not in
the tomb. Trying to explain away the glorious
truth of his resurrection again from the dead. Now they say his
disciples came by night and they stole away his body to give the
impression that he was risen again from the dead. And yet
how ridiculous that is, as we see from the accounts here, when
these women come to the apostles, verse 11, their words seem to
them as idle tales, and they believe them not. These men were
full of unbelief. They were not those who would
have done such a thing as the Jews sought to tell of. But we see quite clearly that
this negative affirmation is not sufficient. It's not enough
for the angels to say to these women, he is not here. There
must also be that positive statement. He is not here, but is risen. He is risen again from the dead. That is the great truth that
we see in what these angels declare unto these women. the truth of
his not being in the tomb because he had risen again from the dead. Now, who was it that raised the Lord Jesus Christ
from the dead? Who was it that raised him from
the dead? Well, as we examine the Scriptures
we see that he is raised by the triune God. He is raised in a
sense by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All the persons of the
God edges are involved. It is a great thing that we are
witnessing in the rising again of Christ. Certainly the scriptures
make it plain that it was by the Spirit. In Romans chapter
8 We read of the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus Christ from
the dead. That is the Spirit of God. That
is the third person in the Triniton. The Spirit of God that raised
up Jesus Christ from the dead. And Peter says much the same
concerning the resurrection of Christ being put to death in
the flesh but quickened by the Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is
there then in the resurrection. And surely we see something of
that in that great 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. There at verse
44, concerning the body, Paul says, it is sown a natural body,
it is raised a spiritual body. It is a work of the Spirit then
that we see in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
the body that is raised is a spiritual body. Now that does not mean
that it is not a real body, it is very much a real body, and
the Lord Himself demonstrates that in this particular chapter. When he appears to the disciples
there at verse 39 he says, Behold my hands and my feet, that it
is I myself, it's the real me, it's I, it's myself. And what does he do? He invites
them to touch him, handle me and say, For a spirit hath not
flesh and bones as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet
believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here
any meat? And they gave him a piece of
a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb, and he took it, and it ate. before
them. He quite deliberately eats the
food before them. They see him partake of the food,
they see it with their own eyes. This is not just a phantom, this
is not just a spirit. Oh yes, he is quickened again
by the spirit, it's a spiritual body, but no, we're not to imagine
that that means that it's not a real body. It is very much
a real body. And so there, at the end of the
chapter, Christ demonstrates the great truth of the physical
aspect of his resurrection from the dead. But then, it's not
only a work of the Holy Spirit that we see in the resurrection
of Christ, it's also the work of God the Father. Now, we must
recognise, time and again, that Our salvation is a Trinitarian
salvation. Was He not the Father who in
the eternal covenant had made choice of the Son? He is the
Father's first elect. He is the servant of the Father. And as He comes into this world,
of course, He humbles Himself. He comes to do the Father's will,
the will of Him that had sent Him. He comes to finish that
work. that the Father had given him
to do. And now you see, having fulfilled
all that work, having been obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross, doesn't the Father come and vindicate him by raising
him again from the dead? Romans chapter 6 and verse 4,
Christ was raised up from the dead, says Paul, by the glory
of the Father. It was by the glory of the Father
that He was raised again to life. He is declared to be the Son
of God, with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by
the resurrection from the dead. Declared, that is, He is marked
out. He is marked out as the Son of
God. This was the very reason, of
course, why the Jews wanted to see Him executed. This was the
charge that they laid against him before Pontius Pilate. That
he said that God was his father, making himself equal with God. They accused him of blasphemy.
And they were bent on his destruction. But what does the father do in
rising him from the dead? Why, the father owns him, acknowledges
him. He is declared to be the son
of God. is marked out as God's eternal
Son by the resurrection from the dead. Oh yes, the Father
is here in raising Him to life and then ultimately some 40 days
later of course the Father will receive Him into the high courts
of heaven But then, not only the Holy Ghost,
not only the Father, but here God the Son. The one that we
see in this state of humiliation. As Paul says to the Corinthians,
crucified through weakness. But death is unable to hold him. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? the sting of death is sin, the
strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We read those
great words there at the end of the 15th chapter in 1 Corinthians. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus in the 10th chapter of John's Gospel concerning that
authority that he has from the Father, that power that he has
from the Father. It's not so much that they are
able to take him and crucify him, but he has authority to
lay down his life and he also has authority to take his life
again. That's what he says. Verse 17
there in John 10, Therefore does my Father love me because I lay
down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from
me but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. The father's command is that
he not only gives his life that he not only makes the great sacrifice,
the one sacrifice for sins forever, but the Father's commandment
is that he is to take that life up again and this is what he
does. And so in Acts chapter 1 we're
told there at verse 3 how he showed himself alive after his
passion. and the word that used to show
there literally means to present himself he presented himself
alive after his passion he gave many infallible proofs to his
disciples of the blessed truth of his resurrection from the
dead he is not here say the angels to the women but He's risen. Oh, He's risen
again. He's risen now in the power of
an endless life. And it is the work, I say, in
which we see all the glories that belong unto the Triune God,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost are involved in His being raised
again from the dead. And all that we might be those
friends who have this right understanding
of the truth of his resurrection and see it in terms of the doctrine
of God, the doctrine of the Trinitarian. To be those who are true Trinitarians,
having an understanding of what is revealed to us concerning
God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, here in the Scriptures. Remember
how there in Ephesians chapter 1 The Apostle Paul speaks of
our faith and that faith coming to us and
being accomplished in us by that same power that God manifested
in raising Christ again from the dead, the exceeding greatness
of his power to us all. who believe according to the
working of his mighty power after the same fashion in like manner
to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right
hand in the heavenly places. Now we need God in all the glorious
fullness of his triune being to come into our souls and to
accomplish that great salvation, to appoint and to grant us that
faith that is truly of the operation of God. The same power that was
there when Christ himself was raised again from the dead. Here then we have from these
angels this affirmation. There's a negative statement
but then there's also the positive statement. He is not here. but
is risen. And then they go on, of course,
to speak of that that we might say is the confirmation of the
resurrection. Remember how He spoke unto you.
when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third
day rise again." Now what we see in these verses
surely is that there is to be those who will witness to it.
This is what they are called to They are called to be witnesses
of the truth of His resurrection. Remember how He spoke unto you
when He was yet in Galilee saying the Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third
day rise again and they remembered His words. But before we come to His words
the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the words that he had spoken.
What is it that the angels are calling them to hear? Well, if
we compare what they say in the other accounts, in the other
Gospels, for example in Matthew chapter 28 and verse 6, they
say this, come, see the place where the Lord lies. They have invited to come and
see the place, to behold the place. and to see that there
is nobody that they might witness to the truth of his resurrection. They are to witness the empty
tomb. And what do we see here in verse
12? As they have gone back and told
of these things unto the apostles, here is impetuous Peter. Then
arose Peter and ran unto the sepulchre. and stooping down,
he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves and departed wondering
in himself at that which was come to pass. The women had witnessed
it, now Peter witnesses it and we know also from the account
that we find in John's Gospel that it was not just Peter, it
was Peter and John who actually ran to the sepulchre and John
outran Peter, he was there first And Peter follows, but Peter,
ever being impetuous, is the first one to look within and
to see these things. But they are witnesses. In fact,
we know that there were many witnesses to the glorious truth
of the resurrection. There did we not in the opening
part of that 15th chapter in 1 Corinthians Verse 5 there, Paul rather says,
he was seen of Cephas, that is Peter, then of the twelve, after
that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of
whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are
fallen asleep, some have died. After that he was seen of James,
then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time. And these are not false
witnesses. This great multitude of witnesses
to the resurrection. He says later there at verse
15, Yea, and we have found false witnesses of God's, because we
have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised
not up, if so be that the dead rise not. They are not false
witnesses. If he has not risen they are false witnesses, but
Christ is risen. And these are those men who bear
witness to that glorious truth that he rose again on the first
day of the week. Again in the Acts of the Apostles,
in Acts chapter 5 and verse 29, here are the apostles before the Jewish Council,
Peter, and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to
obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance
to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of
these things. And so is also the Holy Ghost
whom God has given to them that obey Him. We are witnesses. And
we are witnesses with God, the Holy Ghost. Witnesses of what?
That the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom ye slew and hanged
on a tree. Him has God exalted with His
right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance
to Israel and forgiveness of sin. Now with regards to the things
that they witness to then, as we have them recorded here in
this fifth chapter of Acts, there are some five aspects to the
witness that they are to bear if we could just briefly go through
these five things. First of all, are they not witnesses
to that covenant? It is a covenant in salvation
that the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished. as we've already
intimated. The Father, you see, is there
vindicating him in the resurrection, owning him, acknowledging him,
because he has accomplished that work so faithfully that the Father
gave him to do. And they witness to the covenant.
Look at what Peter and the apostles say here. The God of our fathers
who is the God of our fathers, that is the covenant God of Israel,
the God of our fathers. Micah chapter 7 verse 20, thou
will perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham which
thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. God, you see, is that one who
will perform his truth his mercy, those things that he has sworn.
That is the covenant that God has made with his people. Again,
the psalmist speaks of it, does he not, in the 105th Psalm. And
there, at verses 8 and 9 and 10, he has remembered his covenant
forever. the word which he commanded to
a thousand generations which covenants he made with Abraham
and his oath unto Isaac and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law
and to Israel for an everlasting covenant all this is the God
of our fathers, the God of our fathers is the God of the covenant
and they bear witness to him and to his faithfulness to those
things that he had promised and sworn in that covenant. Why he
has accomplished these things. And we see it in the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But then also they are witnessing
here to the truth of the incarnation. It's interesting that These words at the beginning
of verse 13, Acts 5, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus. Now we might interpret that expression,
raised up Jesus, as being a particular reference to his being raised
again, his resurrection from the dead. But Dr. Gill makes the observation that
it is in fact really a reference to Christ being raised to the
office of Saviour. It's mentioned first, you see,
the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom he slew and hanged
on a tree. Him has got exalted. The resurrection
is spoken of in His being exalted. When it speaks of Him raising
up Jesus, it is how in that covenant the Father did raise up the Lord
Jesus Christ to that great office of the mediator. He is the Mediator
of the Covenant. He is the Saviour of sinners. And again we see, do we not,
in the Psalms, in Psalm 89, God speaks of laying help upon one
who is mighty. Then speakers Then thou speakest
in vision to thy Holy One, and sayest, I have laid help upon
one that is mighty, I have exalted one chosen out of the people,
I have found David my servant with my holy oil, have I anointed
him? Psalm 89 is a masculine Ethan
the Ezraite. It's written after the days of
David. It is speaking of David here
as the type of Christ, Christ who is David's greater son. He
is that one, you see, whom God has laid hell upon, that one
that God has exalted. Exalted raised him up to be the
saviour of sinners. And they bear witness to that.
They are witnesses to these things. They are witnesses to the covenant.
They are witnesses to that glorious truth that the Lord Jesus Christ
is that one that God has exalted, the Prince, the Saviour. the only Saviour of sinners,
that One who has come into this world that He might accomplish
all the goodwill and pleasure of the Father. As I bear witness
also here we see to the truth of His crucifixion. Whom ye slew and hanged on a
tree or their testimony to that. These Jews are speaking to the
counsel of the Jews. These were the ones, were they
not, who were culpable in his crucifixion. Although it was
the accomplishment of the great purpose of God, as Peter had
declared in his sermon previously on the day of Pentecost, him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slain. They done it and they were guilty
in what they did. Although it was the purpose of
God's indeterminate counsel that was being accomplished when Christ
was crucified upon the cross and here they are, they are witnessing.
witnessing to that sad truth that he died upon the cross. He died that cruel death of the
cross. But then also of course they
are witnessing to the great truth of his resurrection. Him as God
exalted. Isn't this the first part of
his exaltation when the Father raises him again from the dead? This Jesus that God raised up
again from the dead, whereof we all are witnesses. That's what Peter says in the
course of his preaching there on the day of Pentecost. God raised him from the dead,
we are witnesses of it. We are testifying of that great
truth. And now these apostles, they
were forever preaching the resurrection. We see it later in the preaching
of Paul there in Athens, how boldly he asserts the truth of
the resurrection. In Acts 17 we are told how he
disputed in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout
persons and in the market daily with them that met with him.
Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics
encountered him and some said, what will this Babalus say? Others, some he seemed to be
a set of force of strange God. Why? Because he preached unto
them Jesus and the resurrection. This is what the apostles were
constantly preaching them that Christ was risen again from the
dead. They were witnesses of it. Had he not appeared to them? Had he not showed himself to
them, presented himself before them? Had they not been invited
to touch that water? Had they not seen him partaking
of food? Or they knew the vested reality
of his resurrection? And then also, had they not witnessed
his ascension? that they had not seen him ascend
to heaven, returning to the glory of his father. We have it there
at the end of Luke and again at the beginning of Acts, that
he was received up out of their sight, received into heaven. And so here you see, he must
have got exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour.
Why was he exalted? for to give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sins. And how does he do that? He gives
the Holy Spirit. Again in his sermon on the day
of Pentecost, Peter declares it, therefore being by the right
hand of God exalted, he hath shed forth this which ye know
as sin and fear. He is the one who bestows the
Holy Ghost gives the Holy Ghost, you see, that there might be
accomplished in the soul of the sinner that real repentance and
that true saving faith, that faith that is by the operation
of God. And so it's not only these apostles
who are the witnesses, but the Holy Ghost also, that's what
Peter says, here in Acts 5.32, we are His witnesses of these
things and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God has given to them
that obey Him. Is it not the Holy Ghost who
takes this witness, these words of these men, this preaching
of the apostles and makes application of it, makes it real in the soul
of the sinner, brings resurrection power into the hearts of those
who are dead in trespasses and sins. You see, the resurrection lies,
does it not, at the very heart of the gospel. If there is no
resurrection, there is really no gospel at all. That's what Paul says, is it
not, in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. This chapter is the great chapter
on the resurrection. But how does it open? Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, he says. This is
the gospel. I declare unto you the gospel,
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein
ye stand. Oh, this is the gospel. The resurrection. Verse 14, he says, if Christ
be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also
vain. The importance, friends, of the
resurrection. Isn't that why we keep this day
as a special day? Isn't this why we observe the
first day of the week as our Sabbath day, our Lord's day?
And we keep it to the law. and we turn aside from the mundane
things of this life and we seek to give ourselves not only by
coming to services but surely in our own homes. We want the
day to be a blessed day. A blessed day to our souls. We
want to remember Him. We want to mark the glorious
truth of His resurrection from the dead. These men then and
these women to whom the Lord first shows himself on that resurrection
day, they are witnesses. Witnesses of the truth, the truth
of the eternal covenant, the truth of the incarnation, the
coming of the eternal Son of God as the servant of God in
the covenant, the truth of his crucifixion, the truth of Him
dying the just for the unjust to bring sinners to God, the
truth of His resurrection, the Father rising Him again, the
truth of His exaltation, His ascension into the very heavens
of God where He ever lives and ever makes intercession for those
who come to God by Him. But then also here We have the
Word of Christ. This is what the angels direct
these women to, principally. He is not here, but He's risen. Remember how He spoke unto you. All remember His words. Remember
how He spoke unto you. When He was yet in Galilee saying,
the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,
and be crucified, and the third day rise again, and they remembered
His words. If this gospel is not true, if
the resurrection is not true, it's not only the preaching of
the apostles that is vain, but the whole ministry of Christ
is vain. The Lord Jesus Christ, did He not foretell these things?
that's what the angels are reminding them of when they were in Galilee
back in chapter 18 and verse 31 then he took unto him the
twelve and said unto them behold we go up to Jerusalem and all
things that are written by the prophets concerning the son of
man must be accomplished for he shall be delivered unto the
gentiles and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and
spit it on and they shall scourge him and put him to death and
the third day he shall rise again. He spoke of these things. And the angels remind them of
the things that he had said. Now notice then the importance
of his word and the word is to be believed. We are not those who are favoured
to see the risen Christ with our natural sight, with our physical
eye. But we have the Word of God. Or remember what Christ told
concerning Lazarus and the rich man in the 16th chapter here. And down both die. And Lazarus is taken into Abram's
bosom. But the rich man also, when he
dies, goes to a certain place, but it's not Abram's bosom. Here
he is, in the sufferings of hell. But there at the end of that
16th chapter, the rich man says to Abraham, I have five
brethren I pray thee therefore father
that they would ascend into my father's house for I have five
brethren that he may testify unto them lest they also come
into this place of torment Abraham says unto him they have Moses
and the prophets let them hear them and he said no father Abraham
but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And
he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. They
will not believe, they cannot believe. For such is the state
of men's hearts by nature, dead in trespasses and sins. A natural
man, he does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.
Even if one was to rise from the dead and appear, man would
not believe it. but the blessed thing friends
is that we have the word of God and again we have the words of
the Lord Jesus do we not there in John chapter 20 as he speaks
to Thomas the end of John 20 Jesus says
unto him Thomas because thou hast seen me thou hast believed
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written
in this book, but these are written. That you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might
have life through his name. These are written, the importance,
you see, the importance of the words. The words of God, the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ, they remember His words. Not necessary that one rise from
the dead and appears such is the state of man's heart, he'd
never believe even if that was to happen. But we have a more
sure word of prophecy. We have the words of God. Christ again says, heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. In other words, my words are
more reliable, more dependable than the things you say. Heaven and earth is going to
pass away. These things will all be consumed. But my word, he says, shall not
pass away. What a favour. that we have this
blessed record, written by these men who were witnesses, and written
not in their own strength, not by their own abilities, but written
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God Himself. It
is the Word of the Living God, and we have to remember His words.
But how solemn when we read There concerning the apostles in verse
11, when the women come and tell them of the resurrection, their
words seem to them as idle tale, and they believe in it. They
are not idle tales. Lord God grant that we might
see and believe the truth of these things. He is not here,
but is risen. May the Lord be pleased to bless
this glorious truth to our souls for His Namesake. Amen.