Turn with me this morning, if
you would, over to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27. I would like
to read this morning the account of the Lord's death, burial,
and resurrection. As I was mentioning before we
began the live broadcast, before our hymns, We celebrate the resurrection. We do not celebrate Easter. Easter
is a pagan holiday. It was derived from pagan worship,
and the Bible commands us that we are not to enjoin the traditions
and the worship of heathens into our worship, that we are to worship
as Christ has commanded us to worship. And that is why we do
not put on any kind of programs for Easter, why we don't do Easter
bunnies, Easter eggs, all that kind of stuff. We don't even
consider the word Easter whenever we speak about this day. However,
we do truly put forth praise and worship
for our Lord Jesus Christ, who resurrected from the grave. As
we'll be talking about this morning, we're gonna be looking at the
importance of Christ's resurrection. And as I said, you know, it's
a shame that we only set aside a day out of the year to speak
of the resurrection. The Lord has given us, as I said
a while ago, two ordinances to remember the work of Christ.
He's given us baptism and he's given us the Lord's supper. Those
are the ways that we celebrate and commemorate the Lord's resurrection,
but also every day that we meet on Sunday is also a testament
to the Lord's resurrection as it is the first day of the week. And so we truly do worship Christ
and his work. And we are glad to be able to
speak of these things today. What I want to start here is
looking at Christ's crucifixion Just to get the background, I
think it's always good sometimes, even if we don't get to a lot
of sermon talking, it's always good to just read the scriptures.
Sometimes we don't do that enough in churches, just read the scriptures.
But I'd like to read the account, and I'm gonna read the account
out of Matthew. Now, if you read through the account in Mark and
Luke and John, you're gonna find that there's other things that
Matthew didn't hit upon. Okay, it's not contradictory,
it's just that each writer put forth different things that the
Holy Spirit had them put forth with the events of the crucifixion
and the resurrection. It doesn't mean that one's better
than the other, or contradicts the other, but it means that
each one is given different details, and then some is given details
in all accounts. I'm gonna read the one in Matthew
this morning, and I truly encourage you to go and read in all four
gospels the account of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection,
and see that there was a lot of other things that happened
besides what we're gonna see here today. But anyway, we'll start
here, and I'm gonna start in verse 27. This is after Christ's
trial. before all the religious leaders,
before Herod, before the Sanhedrin, before Pontius Pilate, and after
they had released Barabbas and all the people had cried crucify,
this is where we pick up. And it says, the soldiers of
the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered
unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him and put
on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right
hand and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying,
hail king of the Jews. And they spit upon him and took
the reed and smote him on the head. And after they had mocked
him, they took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on
him and led him away to be crucified. And as they came out, they found
a man of Cyrene, Simon, By name, him they compelled to bear his
cross, and when they were come into a place called Golgotha,
that is to say a place of the skull, they gave him vinegar
to drink mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof, he
would not drink. And they crucified him and parted
his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among
them, and among my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down,
they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation
written, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then were there
two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand and another
on the left. And they that passed by reviled
him, wagging their heads and saying, thou that destroyeth
the temple and buildeth in three days, save thyself if thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise, also the
chief priest mocking him with the scribes and elders said,
he saved others, himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel,
let him come down now from the cross and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let him deliver
him now if he will have him, for he said, I am the son of
God. The thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same
in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour, there
was darkness over all the land until about the ninth hour. And
about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani. That is to say, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there,
when they heard that said, this man calleth for Elias. And straightway,
one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and
put it on a reed and gave him to drink. The rest said, let
be, Let us see whether Elias will come and save him. Jesus,
when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the
ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was written twain
from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake and the rocks
rent. And the graves were open and
many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the
graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and
appeared unto many. And when the centurion and they
that were with him, watching Jesus saw the earthquake and
those things that were done, they feared greatly saying, truly,
this was the Son of God. And many women were there beholding
afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto
him, among which was Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James
and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's children. And when
the evening was come, there was a rich man of Arimathea named
Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple. He went to Pilate
and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body
to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the
body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his
own tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. and he rolled a
great stone to the door of the sepulcher and departed. And there
was Mary Magdalene and Mary, the other Mary, sitting over
against the sepulcher. Now the next day that followed,
the day of preparation, the chief priest and Pharisees came together
under Pilate saying, sir, we remember that deceiver said while
he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command
therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third
day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away,
and say unto the people he is risen from the dead. So the last
error shall be worse than the first. And Pilate said unto them,
ye have a watch, go your way, and make it as sure as you can.
So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting
a watch. And in the end of the Sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold,
there was a great earthquake for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning
and his raiment was white as snow. And for fear of him, the
keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered
and said unto the women, feared not ye, for I know that ye seek
Jesus, which 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 behold, he goeth before you
into Galilee. There shall you see him, lo,
I have told you. And they departed quickly from
the sepulcher, with fear and great joy and did run to bring
his disciples word. And as they went to tell his
disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, all hail. And they
came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then said
Jesus unto them, be not afraid, go tell my brethren that they
go into Galilee and there shall they see me. Now when they were
going, behold, some of the watch came into the city and showed
unto the chief priest all the things that were done. And when
they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel,
they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, his
disciples came by night and stole him away while he slept. And
if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and
secure you. And so they took the money and
did as they were taught. And this saying is commonly reported
among the Jews until this day. Then the 11 disciples went away
into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus
came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given to me in heaven
and on earth. Go you therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Amen. And so there we have the
account of the Lord's death and resurrection. And we see that
this death, of course, was a very brutal death. This death was
an undeserving death. He did not do anything wrong.
But yet after that death, they laid him in the tomb. And there,
as the Lord said, he would be for three days and three nights. But praise the Lord, brethren,
he didn't stay there. You know, we have all these religious
leaders that you see in Buddha, and you see those in Muhammad,
and all these other leaders that have led false religions, and
you find that they all made their statements, they all lived, they
all gained their worshipers, and then they all died, and they're
still dead today. But we have a Christ who died
and was resurrected back to life. And that's what we celebrate
today. We celebrate the resurrection. And what I thought I would talk
about today is the significance. Why is the resurrection so important? We put so much emphasis on the
cross and we preach the cross. Even Paul said, you know, I know
nothing among you would say, you know, Christ and him crucified. You know, we put all the emphasis
on the work of the cross, the work of the cross, the work of
the cross. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't
put our emphasis there. The work of the cross and what
Christ did there, that is where he died and bled. And by that
blood, that sacrifice that was given, that blood that was shed
was shed for our redemption. And that the wrath that he took
was the wrath that we deserve, yet he took that for us. And
so we don't slight the cross in any way. But brethren, the
resurrection, is the pinnacle of that work of Christ Jesus.
Had not the resurrection taken place, all the work of Christ
would be in vain, and all the faith that we have put towards
the Lord Jesus Christ would be in vain. Matter of fact, the
Bible even says so, as we'll read here in just a few minutes,
but the resurrection is very important. Look with me, if you
would, at Romans chapter one. In Romans chapter one, the Bible
says this about the resurrection and why it's important, why the
significance of this resurrection. In Romans chapter one, Paul begins
to write this letter. He makes a statement here. He says, verse three, concerning
his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of
God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. Brethren, the reason why the
resurrection is so important to us is because that by this
resurrection, Jesus, is declared to be the Son of God. Now, this is the definitive statement
about Christ, the resurrection is. That is exactly why when
you look through the book of Acts and you see the church and
specifically the apostles and the men that were going out to
all the countries preaching, you see them speaking of the
resurrection. They were bearing witness of
the resurrection. They were not preaching outwardly,
at least the Bible doesn't entail that. I'm sure that whenever
they preached the resurrection, they surely preached the cross
because they're not gonna go out and preach a resurrection
without preaching a death, right? You gotta, if you're gonna go
out and preach about somebody's resurrection, you gotta surely
tell them that the guy died. Otherwise, the resurrection has
no meaning, correct? Whenever I go to sleep at night
and wake up the next morning, I don't say that I was resurrected,
because I just went to sleep. I was still alive. I still was kicking and breathing, you know?
And if you've ever heard me, I was breathing pretty heavily,
because I snore pretty loud. I was very much alive. So to
talk about, oh, he resurrected in the morning, you know, that
wouldn't have any significance, would it? But a resurrection
from the dead would preclude that somebody had died,
right? And so they would speak of the
death of Christ, but they would always speak of the resurrection
because many people had died. Many people had died on the cross.
Matter of fact, as we just read, When Christ was crucified, he
was crucified among two thieves. There were two other thieves
being crucified right along with him. So the significance of his
death finds its pinnacle in the fact that it didn't end there,
it didn't end with his death, but that he resurrected himself
from the grave and that he is alive. And so there is in why
the apostles preach the resurrection because nobody can do that. The
very fact that Christ resurrected from the grave gave proof to
all of what he had been saying. The new life that he had walking
around proved that his death had some meaning before God.
And we're gonna hit on that here in just a few minutes. The second
thing I'd like you to see, not only that this is the definitive
statement about Christ, that He has declared the Son of God
here. Now, granted, He was already the Son of God, right? Him being resurrected didn't
make Him the Son of God. So the second thing I want us
to see is that it vindicated Jesus's identity as God, okay? It vindicated the fact that all
through His ministry, He was telling everybody who He was.
You know, a lot of people, and you'll see Jehovah's Witnesses
and other cultic groups that will come and they'll say, well,
Jesus never did ever actually admit that he was actually God. He said that he was the Son of
God, but never did he claim to be God. But brethren, that's
not true. There are so many places in God's
Word where Jesus spoke about himself and equated himself as
God. Matter of fact, if we look, whenever
Jesus spoke to the people, the religious leaders, that's why
they wanted to kill him. That's what they tried him for
whenever he came before them in their little mock trial is for blaspheming by saying that
he was God, that he was saying that he was God. But if you remember back in,
In his ministry, whenever he talked about those things, they
even said, you know, the reason they were trying to kill him
and was mad about him was because of him making himself out to
be God. And if those religious leaders
hearing him preach, they surmised that's what he was saying, and
Jesus never did negate that. then we see that Jesus was declaring
himself to be God whenever he declared himself to be the Son
of God. Every time he said that he was the Son of God, that equated
himself as being God, okay? And so the resurrection, whenever
Christ resurrected from the grave, that proved the very fact of
all that he had been saying See, Jesus had already been God from
eternity past. We know that to be true. He was
God. The Bible says that in the beginning
was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Jesus Christ is that living word. The Bible says that all things
were created by him and for him, that he was in the beginning
and he created all things. and by him all things consist.
That's talking about Jesus Christ. Creation was by Jesus Christ
and Jesus Christ is the one who brought all things into existence
by his word. So that tells us that Christ
was God before the foundation of the world, right? So the resurrection
gives us not only the fact that Jesus is the son of God, but
it proves that he is the son of God. It proves that he is
the son of God. Only God can resurrect himself
from the grave. No man came out there and resurrected
him. God resurrected him, brought him back to life. Only God has
the ability to bring people back to life. You know, we see in
our society, people even now today that are freezing their
brains and freezing their DNA and all this kind of stuff in
hopes that one of these days, or even their whole bodies, they're
putting their bodies in cryogenic freeze in hopes that one of these
days that technology will become so that they'll either figure
out how to cure the disease that the person's dying of or died
of, or the ability to bring somebody back to life. And so even now
today, there are people that's got the money to do it that are
putting themselves in cryogenic freeze. thinking that they're
gonna be able to be resurrected from the dead by the technology
of man. But brethren, only God has that
prerogative. The Bible says that in him is
life. There is no life given by anybody
else. Even though children are brought
and born and brought to life through the procreation of a
husband and a wife, they still aren't the ones that give life.
Only God can give life. Only God can bring conception
together. Only God can make that conception
take root and become an actual living soul. God is the only
one that can do that. And so God is the one who gives
life. And so Jesus, by raising himself from the dead rose in
vindication of his claims that he is truly God. That's why we deem the resurrection
so important. That's why we should preach the
resurrection is because it proclaims or declares Jesus to be the son
of God. The third thing I'd like you
to see is that in his resurrection, this is the stage of the first
stage in Christ's exaltation as man. as a man. You know, all through his ministry,
the Bible says that he was a man of sorrows, acquainted with much
grief, that he was tempted, that he was tried, that he experienced
all the things that we experienced, the hunger, the thirst, the betrayal,
all the things that we encountered, he experienced. You know, he
got tired, he got weary, he had to sleep. All these things he
experienced. And while he was here, he was
not exalted. as God, he was not exalted. The
Bible says that he was uncomely, that he was a guy that looked
like of no value. Matter of fact, turn over to
Philippians, if you would. Turn over to Philippians chapter two. Look at verse five. Philippians
2.5, it says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God. Now here's the Holy Spirit saying
that this is what Jesus thought. So for all those people that
said Jesus never claimed to be God, the Holy Spirit here through
the apostle Paul writing to the Philippians, So this is God's
word, right? It's not Paul's opinion, it's
God's word said that this is what Jesus thought. Jesus thought
that he was the son of God. He said that he was equal with
God or was God. Who being in the form of God
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. See, Jesus thought
that he was equal with God and he said, that's not robbery,
that's not blasphemy, that's not wrong for me to think that
even though that I have taken on flesh, that I have become
less than God. He was equal to God. But it said, but made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and
was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as
a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore, God hath highly exalted
him and given him a name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven
and things in the earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. And so see, we see here that
the fact that Jesus died and was resurrected to life, God
has exalted him for the work that he has done. God has exalted
him before every man. God has exalted him above all
things. Look at it there, he says, that
at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. God has exalted him
to the place because of his work on the cross and the resurrection
showing forth that he was God and that God accepted that death,
that everything that Jesus did was complete. And as he said,
it is finished. Whenever he resurrected from
the grave, God exalted him above every man, every name, every
nation, everything in creation. Jesus Christ is exalted due to
his death and resurrection. His resurrection is important
because by his resurrection, the beginning of exaltation began. Jesus began to be exalted among
men by his resurrection. The next thing I'd like you to
see about the resurrection and its importance is that it says
that Jesus is the Messiah that was being looked for. Look with
me in Acts chapter two. You know, the Jews, they were
looking for a Messiah. They were waiting for Messiah
to come. Messiah had been preached for generations. Abraham had
been told of a seed But it actually went back further than Abraham,
didn't it? Went all the way back to the Garden of Eden, whenever
Adam and Eve was told that the seed of the woman would come
and crush the seed of the serpent. Abraham was told that his seed
would be as many as the stars. David was promised that there
would be one who would come after him. that he would have a seed. And
so we see that Jesus was the Messiah that was to be looked
for. And in Acts chapter two, and if you would look with me
at verse 36. Matter of fact, let's back up just a
bit. Look at verse 29, it says, Let me freely speak unto you
of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and
his sepulcher is with us unto this day, therefore being a prophet. Now, we just read in our passage
in Matthew, right? about the prophet that spoke
whenever they were casting lots for Jesus, and it said that the
scriptures might be fulfilled of the prophets. This is the
prophet that was speaking. David was speaking of these things.
You can find the account of that back in Psalm 22. That's where
David prophesied of Christ's crucifixion. But it says, Therefore
being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to
him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh,
remember it's always according to the flesh, always according
to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.
He's seen this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ.
So Jesus sitting upon the throne or ascending
the throne of David, is not some thousand-year reign millennial
thing that happens at the end of the age. See, there's a lot
of teaching in Christendom that there's gonna be this time that
Jesus is gonna come back and he's gonna rapture the church
out, and then there's gonna be a seven-year tribulation, and
then after the tribulation, there's gonna be this war, and then there's
gonna be this thousand-year reign, and Christ is gonna ascend the
throne of David. and come back and ascend the
throne of David, and he's gonna rule and reign with an iron rod
on the throne of David over the nations, and that Israel is gonna
ascend 12 thrones and gonna rule with him over the nations. Brethren, if you look here, the
New Testament clearly says that that prophecy of Christ ascending
the throne of David and ruling with an iron rod, that Christ
coming into his exaltation on the throne speaks of his resurrection. Look what it says. Again, he's
seen this before. Speaking of David, seen this
before. Seen what before? That Christ would sit on his
throne. He's seen this before, spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in
hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God
raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by
the right hand of God exalted." So at this point, he's saying
that Jesus sitting on that throne is Jesus exalted. He's already
been exalted and how is he exalted? by his resurrection. He was exalted
by his resurrection, and having received of the Father the promise
of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this which ye now see and
hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus, the one who ascended the throne, the one
who has been highly exalted above every name, that God hath made that same
Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ." That word Christ
speaks of the Messiah. that word Christ, the anointed
one, means Messiah. And so we see here, brethren,
that the crucifixion is important to us because it shows that Jesus
was that prophesied Messiah. He was the one to come. He was
the seed of David's loins. He was the one to ascend David's
throne and be exalted with power to rule over the nations. That's why Jesus said after his
resurrection and when he gave the commission to the church,
he said that all power has been given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Why? Because he has been highly
exalted because of his Messiahship, he is the Messiah, the anointed
one of God. He was the one who was anointed
of God to take away the sins of man. He was the anointed one
of God to be the sacrifice for his people. He was the anointed
of God to be the one to bring our justification in. And so
by Jesus's resurrection, Jesus proved to be the Messiah that
Israel had been waiting for. Israel had no reason to not see
and understand who Jesus was and to worship him. But yet they still was in unbelief.
They still was in unbelief. Turn with me if you would to
Mark. I'm sorry, it's not Mark, it's,
I think it might be the account in Luke. Yes, Luke chapter 24. Look at verse five, it says,
and as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth,
they said unto them, why seek you the living among the dead?
He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he spake unto you
when he was yet in Galilee, saying, the son of man must be delivered
into the hand of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day
rise. So we see here that Jesus actually
told them specifically that he would be delivered into the hands
of sinful men, that he would be crucified, and that he would
rise the third day. Now, that's the Holy Spirit telling
us that Jesus said that to those disciples. And you would think
they would, whenever it happened, they would say, well, here's
it, this is what Jesus was talking about. And they remembered his words
and returned from the sepulcher. and told all these things unto
the 11 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 apostles. And their
words seemed to them as idle tales. And they believed them
not." See, Jesus himself had told these disciples what he
was gonna do. Here it is, it happened exactly
the way that he told them it was gonna happen. Matter of fact,
if they knew their Old Testament scriptures, it happened exactly
as the psalmist had written it would happen, even down to the
fact that they would cast lots upon his clothes. I mean, graphic detail, it happened
exactly the way that it happened, Jesus himself bore witness to
what was gonna happen, and yet here they are saying Jesus is
resurrected. All they had to do is count back
one, two, three days. Yeah, he said he would rise on
the third day, and yet they didn't believe him. They still did not
believe him. Then rose Peter and ran to the
sepulcher, and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid
by themselves and departed, wondering in himself at that which was
come to pass. He still was wondering what had
happened. Even after he went and seen, he wasn't there. They
didn't believe this. See, the Jews should have known
this, but by Christ raising from the dead, it was proof that this
truly was the Messiah that they were waiting for. But brethren,
only those who have this revealed to them believe that. Only those
who believe, who have been given faith By Christ Jesus knows this
to be true. Now, the next thing I want you
to see on why it's important that the resurrection happened,
the significance of the resurrection to us, is that by the resurrection,
we are, Christ's sacrifice, Christ's work on the cross was accepted
by God. Turn with me back to Romans chapter
four. Romans chapter four. Look with me at verse 23. It says, now it was not written
for his sake alone that it was imputed to him. Speaking of Abraham
having the righteousness of Christ imputed to him by the faith of
Christ. Okay, the work of Christ, the
seed. Abraham accounted the seed to
himself as righteousness. Okay, God didn't account Abraham's
faith to Abraham's righteousness. He counted the seed. Abraham
counted the seed unto him for righteousness. And he said, and now it was not
written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for
us also to whom it shall be imputed. If we believe on him that raised
up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses,
and was raised again for our justification. Brethren, our
justification before God comes by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Why? Well, number one, we are
justified because of the works of Christ Jesus. His faithfulness
in the covenant of grace to come and to live the law perfectly
for his people, for him to take on the wrath of God and bear
the iniquities of his people. God made covenant with Christ
that all for whom Christ would die, that God would justify freely,
that that would be payment enough for their sin Christ died for
our sin. The Bible said, thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. In Isaiah chapter 53, the Bible says, in Isaiah 53 and verse 10, it said,
yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin or a sacrifice
for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall
prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall. prosper in
his hand. That means that Christ, the work
that Christ did on the cross is effectual. It actually did
something. It didn't make something possible.
It actually did something for the ones he died. It justified
them. It caused them before God to
be reconciled, to be forgiven, to be propitiated, to be justified. accounted as not guilty. Look at verse 11. He shall see
the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. God, whenever he's
seen Christ die and take the full wrath on himself, take the
full iniquity of all his people, that in that death, God was satisfied. That means that God's justice
was satisfied. God's law was satisfied. Everything that God required
for God to be just as God and forgive sinners was done. See, God couldn't justify sinners. God couldn't justify the wicked.
God couldn't forgive the wicked, couldn't love the wicked because
he is holy. But yet by the death of Christ
who took on our iniquities and as our substitute died in our
place for us, a perfect, sinless, spotless lamb died for us. God saw that travail of his soul
in taking on that sin and iniquity and the full wrath of God against
it. And he said he was satisfied
in his justice. Satisfied. The law could not
condemn those for whom Christ died any longer. And he says
there, by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many, for he shall bear their iniquities. See, the wages of
sin is death. And Christ experiencing that
eternal wrath of God for us on that cross, filled it up and
took it all on himself and took it to the point of satisfaction
of God. Listen, if me or you would have
been put on that cross, it wouldn't have been enough. If we would
have died for our own sins, it would not have been enough because
we are not spotless and pure. Our sacrifice would not be worthy
in the sight of God. There had to be one who come
in our place. And Christ came in our place.
And all of the law of God was against us. Not one of us, the
Bible says, is innocent. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. That all of us, all of our righteousnesses,
are as filthy rags, that we are unprofitable servants, that we
are sinners before God. But yet for those who Christ
died, that sin is atoned for, that sin is forgiven, and God's
law is satisfied, and so God can look at those people for
whom Christ substituted and said, forgiven. not guilty. Therefore, they're justified
before God. And God, and since God was satisfied
with the death of Christ, there was no reason for Christ to have
to stay dead. Christ did not have to stay dead. All was completed. All was accomplished. All was attained. It was finished. And so God resurrected Christ
from the dead to show forth the fact that he accepted that sacrifice
for his people. Kind of a neat thing that I read
this morning that a friend of mine on Facebook posted by Pastor
Jim Bird. He made the statement that if
you notice in the account that we read, stone was rolled away
from the tomb, we know that Jesus had the very power to blast that
stone into pieces and just let it blow out and explode and him
just burst forth from the tomb, right? Or break out of the tomb.
And this man said, but why did Jesus not do that? I mean, whenever
Jesus died on the cross, we've seen that the whole earth shook
and that the ground split open and graves opened up. Jesus could
have split all that open and just busted it out and that rock
into a thousand pieces. But I like what this pastor said.
He said he didn't do that. He rolled the stone away and
he didn't bust it because when somebody busts out of prison,
that means that they are still defiling the law. Someone who
is still in prison means that they still haven't paid for all
their trespasses. And if they break out of prison,
that means that they have sprung from prison without the law's
consent. Jesus didn't do that. Jesus fulfilled
the whole law. Jesus completed all righteousness.
Jesus did everything that was required so that God was satisfied,
and so he didn't bust out of prison. He was let out of prison. God rolled the door away just
like we would if someone had been in jail and served all their
time. You come down and you open the
door, so you're free to go. You've paid all that's required
to pay. And so Jesus came out of that
tomb from a stone that was rolled away, because he had satisfied
all the demands that God made for his people. And so by his
resurrection, we see that Christ's sacrifice was accepted. Look
at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, if you would. 1 Corinthians chapter
15. Look with me if you would, down
to verse 17. He said, if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain and ye are in your sins. See, the importance
of the resurrection is that if Christ doesn't raise from the
dead, then that means nobody raises from the dead. And if
nobody raises from the dead, then that means that we will
not raise from the dead. And if we will not raise from
the dead, then our faith in Christ to save us in the end and to
raise us from the dead and to take us into eternity with him
forever is in vain. If Christ himself who was the
perfect spotless lamb could not be raised from the dead, then
how could we who are very spotted lambs be raised from the dead. We can't. See, Christ's resurrection
is important because it shows forth that as Christ was accepted
as the sacrifice and was raised from the dead accordingly, that
we too who are in union with Christ, who are in him in the
regeneration, shall follow suit. We shall follow suit. The Bible says that he is the firstfruits. Look while you're there. I'm
actually gonna skip to this point, but while we're here in 1 Corinthians
15, I wanna go ahead and read it. Look at verse 20. He says,
but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits
of them that slept. For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. So we see here another
reason that the resurrection is important is because it makes
our own resurrection possible. Jesus being the firstfruits. Y'all know what firstfruits are?
The firstfruits, whenever the people would go out and plant
their crops or plant whatever it was, that they would, whenever
that crop began to come in, whenever that fruit began to ripen, whenever
it was about time for harvest, they would bring in the firstfruits
and they would give the firstfruits to the Lord in their worship. And that firstfruits was just
the significance that there would be more fruits to come. There would be seconds and thirds
and fourths and fifths and there would be more to come. That it
was just a sampling that it was the prototype, so to speak, of
the rest to come. Jesus, when he raised from the
dead, raised as a first fruit. He raised showing that there
was more to come. There would be more who would
be resurrected to life to come. And that all his people who were
in him would also be resurrected to life. Brethren, ain't that,
Ain't that wonderful to know? Ain't that great to have that
hope that this life isn't all for us, that in the end, whenever
we die, that we'll put away this old sinful body full of not only
corruption, but full of pain and suffering, turmoil, tragedy,
trials, that in this resurrection, we will experience what we've
never experienced before, and that is a body that is truly
without sin, without the effects of the curse. Brethren, the resurrection
of Christ is our hope that we too will be resurrected because
he is the firstfruits, because he died first. I read about an
illustration whenever I was reading about this passage of scripture
about firstfruits. You all know, of course my kids
were, They know I'm kind of a car guy, I like old classic cars,
hot rods, and stuff like that. And car shows, I used to go to
car shows a lot when I was younger, but going to car shows, whenever
a car manufacturer comes out with a new design, they'll go
to a car show and what'll they do? They'll bring out his prototype,
right? They'll show you the new design, they'll show you the
new car that's about to come out. It isn't in mass production
and it isn't, able to be bought on the parking lot yet, or on
the car lot yet, but it's a prototype. It's to show you what's to come.
That's kind of what Jesus is. Jesus' resurrection was to show
us what's to come for us. And so that's why the resurrection
was important. It represents the rest of the
harvest that is to come, which is all of his people. All those
who are his will be raised to life at the end. And because
of that, we know that the new birth is possible. The resurrection
is important to us because it makes the new birth possible. That which is dead, if Jesus
was still dead, he cannot give life. And the Bible says that
he's been given authority over all flesh to give life as he
wills to as many as God has given him, that he has power over all
flesh to give life. And how can he give life if he's
dead? All right? Look with me to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1, verse 3. It says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. See, the resurrection of Christ
was essential for Christ to be able to give life. We are begotten
again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the
dead. The resurrection is important. It's not a secondary doctrine
that we preach. It's a fundamental doctrine that
we preach. And then lastly, brethren, the
resurrection is important to us because it tells us that Christ
is continuing to intercede for us. Look with me, if you would,
at Hebrews chapter seven. Hebrews chapter seven. Until
that time of the resurrection. Now, I spoke of the resurrection
just a minute ago, And it's actually, I put it last in my points because
I was going in progression of our experience of these things. But the resurrection is important
because until that resurrection, the Bible says that Jesus intercedes
for us. Look at Hebrews chapter seven
and look with me down at verse 24. But this man, because he continueth
forever, hath an unchangeable priesthood." See, Christ is able
to be our priest, to be the one, our advocate, the one who stands
before God on our behalf. See, that's what the priest was.
The priest stood before God. on our behalf and offered the
sacrifice on our behalf. But in Hebrews, we find out that
Jesus is like the Old Testament priest and how they had to continually
offer sacrifices unto God. And the priesthood was a continual,
unchangeable thing that, you know, they had to swap in and
out priests because priests came and went and they died and they
had to replace them. And they couldn't offer all the
time because they were men, they had to sleep, they had to eat,
they had to rest. And so they had to have a changing
out of the priest. And so there would be a different
priest come in and do these sacrifices. And so we see that Jesus wasn't
like that, that Jesus himself is the last and only priest.
He is the great high priest. He's the one who comes and offers
the sacrifice, which is also kind of odd because the Bible
also says that he himself is the sacrifice. He's the one who
offers the sacrifice and he is the one who is the sacrifice. But anyway, we see here it says,
because he continueth forever. Now, how can you continue forever
if you're dead, right? But the fact that Jesus resurrected
from the grave means that his priesthood continues. He is still
our high priest. Some may say, well, after the
sacrifice was over, he's no longer our high priest, he's just our
king. He's not our prophet, he's not our priest, but he's our
king now. Brethren, he's still our high
priest, look what it says there. But this man, because he continues
forever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, Wherefore, he is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest became
us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heaven who needeth not daily as those high priests
who offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins and then for
the people's. For this he did once when he
offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests
which have infirmity, but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the son who is consecrated forevermore. Well, he's our high priest forevermore,
and he ever lives to intercede, and he does that because of his
resurrection. God has highly exalted him, and he now is at
the right hand of God, meaning that he has the power and the
authority of God. Not that he sits in a little
throne beside the big throne, okay? He sits in the throne.
There's only one throne in heaven. That's the throne of God and
Christ Jesus is the one who sits in it. He is the right hand of
God, meaning the authority of God, the power of God, the reign
of God, everything that God is. That's what the right hand symbolizes. And Christ is at that right hand.
He is ever living to intercede for his people. He is as the
Christ man, as the Messiah, the anointed one, the one who was
raised from the dead, the one who stands as the mediator between
God and men. And that way we are not consumed. That way that our sins will not
be our demise. That way that we will be raised
at the end because we have been justified, that priest declares. One of the things that the priest
did, brethren, is he offered the sacrifice, but that wasn't
the end of it. As I've mentioned before, the
offering of the sacrifice and the sacrifice itself is meaningless
unless the application of that satisfied is made. See, nobody
cares to know that Jesus died and was resurrected. But what we do care about was,
did Jesus die and was he resurrected for me? See, that's the importance
of it. Is it applied? And the Bible
teaches us that Christ applied that sacrifice just like the
Old Testament did. Whenever they made that sacrifice,
they took that blood and they sprinkled that blood and applied
that blood and it was applied in place and for all for whom
it was made. It wasn't made for the Hittites,
the Perizzites, the Canaanites, it wasn't made for them. It was
made for Israel. And in the type and foreshadow
that shows that Christ's sacrifice was made for his people and everyone
for whom that sacrifice was made, it will be applied. And that
high priest stands now as our mediator and he pleads that blood
before God on our behalf. And so brethren, the resurrection
is extremely important to us. It isn't just Christ coming back
to show a miracle, but it was the consummation of all of the
redemptive work of Christ Jesus. The resurrection was the foreshadowing
and the sign of the true fulfillment that salvation doesn't just begin
with the giving of life in our mortal bodies, but that one of
these days our mortal flesh will die and we will have immortal
flesh that will come and that we will spend eternity for him
because we will be raised from the dead just as our first free
high priest did. All right, does anybody have
any questions? True, much to be thankful for.
on the Lord's behalf or on our behalf for what Christ has done
on our behalf. Truly, his crucifixion was paramount. But brethren, without that resurrection,
all what he did on the cross would have been useless. It would
have been for nothing. It would have been just another
martyr like Peter and James and all the others, just a martyr
for a good cause. But brethren, he did it more
than just for a good cause. He did it for God's cause. God's cause to glorify himself
in the saving of his people. And so we give him eternal praise
and glory. Matter of fact, the Bible tells
us in Revelations that forever and ever we are going to be crying,
holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is
filled with his glory and that glory was the glory of His righteousness
shown in the redemption of His people. The Bible says that we
will be rejoicing around the throne of the Lamb. We will be
rejoicing over the Lamb. We will be rejoicing over our
Savior who died for us. Brethren, what a great time that
will be and I look forward to that day and I hope you do too.
I hope you have that hope as well and you Does anybody have
any questions or any comments that you'd like to add or any
correction or reproof from what's been said? Well, I pray that you'll continue
to think on these things throughout the rest of the day. And again,
this Resurrection Day is not about pagan holidays and Easter
eggs and Easter bunnies. It's not about cantatas hot cross
buns and all that kind of stuff. It's about Jesus. It's about
him. And we recognize his resurrection
and we glorify in that. All right, let's bow and have
word prayer. Our gracious heavenly father, we thank you for this
day that we have together. Lord, we thank you for your grace
and mercy. We thank you for Christ who died
for us but not just that he died, but that he rose for justification.
We thank you that we have life today because of his justification
and resurrection. Father, we are thankful for grace
that before the foundation of the world, that that purpose
and grace that was in God was given to us, that we were called
with that holy calling, not according to our works, because our works
will not do nothing but condemn us, but according to that purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the foundation
of the world. And we're glad that it is now
being manifested by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who
has abolished sin and death and brought life and immortality
to life through the gospel. That's why we preach this gospel.
That's why we hold to this gospel so true and dear. That's why
we make of much importance the ministry of the gospel in our
church, Father, is because we know that it is the good news
of what you have done. Not what man must do, but what
you have done. And Father, we do not deserve
that. It truly is by grace alone. And so we pray today that all
those that are here, Lord, that they have that hope within their
heart. We pray, Father, that you would draw them to you by
your grace that you would open up their understanding to their
need for Christ, that you would give them understanding of what
Christ has done on their behalf, that they might profess that
before men, that they might declare that salvation before men, and
that they might present themselves for baptism and become members
of this church so that they might partake in the ministry of the
gospel, the fellowship of the gospel, the communion of the
Lord's table, Lord, these things are so important, and we pray,
Lord, that these that are yours, that you might call them out,
that you might bring them forth, that you might manifest them,
that you might convert them to the gospel. Even today, Father,
that be your will. We ask, Lord, that you'd be with
us as we leave this place, that this exhortation of rejoicing in the
resurrection may not just be for today, but Father, that it
might be every day that we rejoice in what Christ has done on our
behalf and what we will soon experience in the last day. Lord, we will be grateful for
all eternity for what the Lamb has done and we will sing his
praises. But Father, may we have pleasure in singing those praises
even now in this body of flesh that we are in. May we rejoice
to know that it is not all for us. So, Father, help us. May
you be with those that are not here today, that you might bless
them and minister to them. Father, I pray that you might
be with all those who are sick and going through injuries, Lord. We pray for their healing. We
pray, Lord, for families that are being broken up and that
Satan are attacking, lives that are being destroyed. Father,
we pray for them. this morning, we pray that you
might be with the church and wherever it be, Father, that
you might strengthen it. And that in these days that are
before us, where wickedness is availing, it seems, may we know
that you are in control of all things. But Father, may you keep
us strong in the faith as we stand amidst people who will
desire to persecute us for what we believe. Lord, may you help
us in those times to be a witness of Christ. And again, we thank
you for this day. We thank you for those that are
here today. We thank you for those who may have tuned in to
listen or to watch. Lord, may you also minister to
their heart. And we pray that if they're somewhere
where there is not a gospel church, Lord, we pray that you would
raise one up. where they're at or lead them to a place where
a gospel church might be so that they can fellowship in the ministry
of the gospel. We love you and we thank you
and we praise you. And it's in Christ's name that
we pray, amen.