Open with me, if you would, to
Matthew 26. Matthew 26. We have been going
through two books in the Bible. the book of Matthew, and the
book of Daniel. And obviously, as I feel led
to, we go other places. We were just in a different place
for our Bible study a minute ago. But we're going through two books
specifically. And I'm gonna use both books
for our text today. because their subject matters
have met. They're speaking of the same
subject matter. As we have gone verse by verse
through those two books, the next verse for each one is concerning
the resurrection. It just so happens. The last time we were in Matthew,
our text was verse 31. Today, our text will be verse
32. Matthew 26, verse 32 says, but
after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Verse 31, then said Jesus unto
them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night, For
it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the
flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I
will go before you into Galilee. After I am risen again. Now let me show you why I also
want to include the book of Daniel for our text. Turn with me to
Daniel chapter 12. It's page 1125 in my Bible, just
after the book of Ezekiel. Daniel 12. The last time we were here, verse
one was our text. Verse two will be our text today. It says, and many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. This chapter right here is speaking
of our resurrection. That's what it's talking about.
Our resurrection at the time of our Lord's return. Matthew
26 is referring to our Lord's resurrection from the cross,
from the grave. And Daniel 12 is referring to
our resurrection on the day that he comes back and this whole
thing is over. And verse 1 right here says, At that time shall
Michael stand up. Representing Christ. Representing
the Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of the final day of
judgment. At that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.
And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since
there was a nation. And there will be trouble is
coming. At that time, trouble's coming. And at that time, thy people
shall be delivered. At that time, thy people shall
be delivered. Who is it? He said, everyone
that shall be found written in the book. That's who it's going
to be. Verse two says, and many of them that sleep in the dust
of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some
to shame and everlasting contempt. Our subject today is the resurrection. On the last day, every soul that
is, every soul that was, there will be some souls standing on
this earth at that time, but every soul that was before, will
be resurrected, some to eternal life with Jesus Christ, some
to eternal condemnation without Jesus Christ. Now, what will
make the difference? What will make the difference?
Everlasting life or shame and everlasting contempt? What will
make the difference? In our resurrection, what will
make that difference? The answer is Christ's resurrection. That's the answer. What will
make the difference in our resurrection? Christ's resurrection. Our resurrection
is completely, totally dependent on Christ's resurrection. And I'm gonna give you the punchline
to the whole thing right now, okay? You want the punchline
to the whole message. I'm just gonna lay it all out
on the table right now. If we were crucified with Christ,
and if we died with Christ, and if we were buried with Christ,
and if we rose again with Christ, it is eternal life for us. And if not, there is no hope. That's it. It's all dependent on Jesus Christ. It's all dependent on Jesus Christ. Now I want us to take a minute
and consider these two questions, okay? Number one, why did Christ
die? And number two, why was he raised
again? And if the Lord will allow us
to really dig deep into this, I know everybody imagines I have
the answer. I know the answer to those two
questions right now. But if the Lord will let us really dig deep
into this, we're going to see a great work that Christ accomplished
for his people. If he will really let us enter
into the truth of those two questions. We will see a great work that
the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished for his people. Why did Christ
die? I pray that the Lord will allow
all of us to really focus our attention on this for one second.
Why did Christ die? Why did Christ die? Most people
see the Lord Jesus Christ as being a good man that bad things
happen to. And I would say that's an accurate
statement. But it goes much deeper than that. Most people believe that Jesus
Christ died because he was hated by the Jews and by the Greeks
for the message he preached. And I would say that's a true
statement. But it goes much deeper than that. Oh, they hated him,
didn't they? They hated him for what he said
about God and what he said about man. But it goes much deeper
than that. Most people say that Jesus Christ
died on the cross of Calvary because that's what he was sent
by his father to do. He came to die in order to save
his people from their sins. That is most definitely so. But it goes much deeper than
that. It goes much deeper than that. Why did Christ die? Here's the
reason why. It's because He was made sin. That's the reason why. It's because he was made sin.
Had Christ not been made sin, it would never have even been
possible for him to die. It would never have even been
possible for him to die. Where sin is not, death is not. By one man, sin entered the world,
and death by sin. Sin is the cause of death. The
wages of sin is death. You say, no, cancer cells cause
death. Heart attacks cause death. Violent crimes and wars cause
death. No, those things are just the
result of sin. Crime or no crime? War or no
war? Car accident or no car accident? Every soul on this earth dies. I've said before that if you're
curious whether a person is a sinner or not, some people just lift
up certain one so high on a pedestal, you know, grandmother or whoever
it may be, you just, you wonder, is that person even actually
a sinner? Well, here's all you have to
do. Wait and see if the person dies. That's all you have to
do. Just wait and see if the person
dies. If the person is not a sinner, that person will not die. Well, Christ was not a sinner.
He was not. Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, was not a sinner. Therefore, He could
not die. The ever-living One could not
die. But He was given the task by
His Father of redeeming His people. His people who had been sold
into sin, that's where we were, the sin of breaking God's holy
law. The redemption of God's people,
it involved righting every wrong they had committed. He had to
right all of our wrongs. It involved paying every debt
that God's people had incurred. It involved removing the sin
all the way down to the stain of sin that had infected the
flesh of God's people. So that's what Christ did. That's
what he did. He came into this world and he
righted every wrong. And he paid every debt his people
had incurred. And he did that by removing the
sin from his people and bearing that very sin in himself. And I'm telling you, he removed
that sin from his people. He took the sin of God's people
away from them by bearing it in his body on the tree. And how can we know for a fact
that He did indeed do that? Scripture says He took our sin
from us and bore it in His body on the tree. Our sin was nailed
to that tree through Him. How do we know He did that? How
do we know for a fact He did that? He died. That's how we know for a fact
He did that. He died. Had Christ not bore the sin of
his people in his body on the cross of Calvary, he would have
never died. He would have hung there and
hung there and hung there. In the early 1900s, there was
a missionary to Ethiopia, Africa named Paris Reedhead. And he
tells the story of walking through the jungle with some native men
back in the early 1900s. And as they were walking, they
heard a very faint, faint cry, somebody help me. And they stopped. And they listened. Somebody help
me. And they followed that voice and
they followed that cry. Oh, somebody help me. Until they
came to a man laying there in the jungle in the final stages
of leprosy. And they said that poor man was
eaten alive. His flesh was half gone. Oh,
you could see his bones. There was nothing that could
be done. This man was at the end of the end, just laying there
crying, somebody help me. And Mr. Readhead said, I have
never felt more helpless in all my life. I could not do anything
for that man. But he said, as I stood there
looking at that man, the thought went through my mind that if
I could pick that man up, and you don't touch a leper. You
touch leprosy, you get leprosy. But he said, the thought went
through my mind that if I could pick that man up and press his
flesh-eaten, rotting, decaying, diseased body up next to my body
and all of his death and all of his stench. He said, if I
could press that up against my body and press his face next
to my face and if I could take all of his disease and all of
that decay out of him into myself and impart all of my health into
him. He said, if I could do that,
I would have a better understanding of what my Lord Jesus Christ
did for me. He died because he took my sin,
my loathsome disease into himself, and he suffered every consequence
for it, crying, my God, my God, help me. Why have you forsaken me? Why
will you not hear me? He did that on behalf of his
people. Now, if that's the case, If he
did that, if Christ did that, if he died because he bore the
sin of his people in his body, why was he raised again? He was raised again because his
payment for our sin was so powerful, it was so effectual, it was so
overly abundant, There was so much life in His blood. So much value in that blood. He didn't just meet the payment
required. When blood was required, without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission for sin. When blood was required, his
blood was so perfect, it was so pure, it was so valuable,
the price was set and his payment so far exceeded the price, the
grave could not conceal him any longer. Not only was the sin debt paid,
it was removed, it was blotted out, it was taken away. This
is the glory of His payment for sin, as opposed to the payment
that man will try to make for all eternity, but never will
be able to. Men and women go into that ground,
and outside of Christ, that's where they'll stay for eternity,
because they don't have anything to satisfy God. But He does. But this man, This man does. He made that payment so fully,
so completely, it was taken away to the point that it could never
return again. It was gone. It became gone. Put away, blotted
out, removed, gone. In the Old Testament, there was
a ceremony where the priest would take a goat And he would lay his hands on
the head of that goat. And it symbolically represented
him transferring the sins of the people to that goat. It was
just a picture. It was just a type. It didn't
really happen. But it was a symbol. And he would symbolically transfer
the sins of the people into that goat. And then he would give
that goat to a fit man. And that fit man would take that
goat so far away, it was not possible for that goat to ever
return again. And the man would leave that
goat there and he would come back alone. And that's a picture of Jesus
Christ. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on
the cross of Calvary. That's what he accomplished on
the cross of Calvary. He didn't open the door of salvation
so we can walk through it if we want to. He didn't accomplish
half the work for us to finish the other half of the work. He
did not make salvation possible. He put away the sin of His people
and made them perfect, spotless, holy, and alive. He put away the sin of His people
to the point that it cannot ever come back again. He took our
sins so far away, it's not possible for them to ever return. Do you
have sins in your conscious that you hope never come up again?
Anybody have that? Oh, I hope that's never brought
up again. Well, in Christ, it ain't never
gonna be brought up again. Never again. I mean they're gone. They're gone. By the third day
of our Savior laying in the grave of His separation from God, the
sin was gone and it was gone forever. There was no trace.
There was no spot. The inside of that tomb was the
sweetest smelling place in Jerusalem. Life was in that tomb. Oh, the
lily of the valley was in that tomb. There was no spot, no blemish. And that's why he was raised
again. That's the reason why he was raised again. Sin was
no longer there. And where sin is not, death is
not. The moment Christ put that sin
away, God the Father cried, life, life, eternal life. And up from
the grave He arose. The victorious conqueror of our
sin, the remover of our sin forever, forever. Turn with me over to
Hebrews 10. Verse 11 says, Every priest standeth
daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices
which can never take away sins. Why were they doing that? It's
because that's what the law said man had to do. But it wasn't good enough. Man
could not do it well enough. He could not do it completely
enough. It never removed one sin. Man was doing, and doing,
and doing, and trying, and trying. Well, now the law says we got
to sacrifice this dove, and we got to sacrifice this lamb, and
we got to do, and do, and it never took away one sin. Verse
11, every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this
man, Jesus Christ, After he had offered one sacrifice for sins
forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth
expecting till his enemies, who's that? That's me and you, be made
his footstool, sitting at his feet. For by one offering He
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. That's why He
arose. That's why He arose. By that
one sacrifice of Himself, He perfected everything He died
for. Look at Hebrews 9 verse 11. It
says, But Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. He obtained it. And that's why
he arose. Verse 27 right here says, As
it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many. That means He endured our judgment.
You know, people say, Judgment's coming, judgment's coming. Not
in Christ it's not. In Christ it's over and finished.
He did it. He stood before God as His people
and they didn't do too well. God killed them in him. But it's over. It's over. Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear
the second time without sin. He took those sins away. And
he's not bringing them back with him. He's not walking around
carrying our sins, hanging them over our heads. They're gone.
He's coming back without sin unto salvation. The moment he
arose from that grave, there was no sin. And that's the condition
he left all of his people in. When he returns to get his people,
that will be the condition he finds them in. That's the condition
he made them to be in, and that's where all of them still are.
And that's why they are gonna rise from their graves. No sin. There's no sin. As he did, they
will. Because he ever lives without
sin, they will ever live. without sin. One of my favorite
verses in the scripture is Jeremiah 50 verse 20. In those days, and
in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for, and there shall be none. Go looking for it, see
if you can find it. As he is in his resurrection,
So are we in His resurrection. As He is in His own resurrection,
so are we in His resurrection. I'm done, but go with me to John
11. I'm almost done. Go with me to John 11. John 11, verse 21. Then said Martha unto Jesus,
Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But
I know that even now whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will
give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, thy brother
shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Why? I already died for him. I've already died for him. There's
no sin. The sin is gone. That's what
I accomplished for my people in my death, my burial, and my
resurrection. I put away their sin. Life is all that remains. The wages of righteousness is
life, eternal life. Let me just tell you this, I'll
close. 1 John 3 says, let me just quickly read it to you.
1 John 3, if you can turn quick, you can go with me. 1 John 3, verse 1 says, behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we
should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth
us not because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know
that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the
transgression of the law, and you know that he was manifested
to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Verse nine says, whosoever is
born of God doth not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him,
he cannot sin, he's born of God. God's already slain that old
sinful man, and all that's left is the righteous man of Christ.
That's what Christ accomplished for his people in his death,
his burial, and his resurrection. Complete, total perfection. Sinless purity, not in ourselves,
but in him. All in him. By the sacrifice
of himself, he made his people holy and without blame before
him. And because of that, every soul
that he did that for has a reason to celebrate. Every soul has
a reason to celebrate. Thank God he is risen. Thank God. Thank God for what
that means for us. He is Lord. He is Lord. He is
risen from the dead and He's Lord. Every knee shall bow. Every
tongue confess. Jesus Christ is the risen conquering
Lord. To Him be all the glory. Amen.