John's Gospel, chapter 20. And
I'm going to read from verse one. The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher,
and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Then she
runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom
Jesus loved. That's probably John, the writer
of this book. He's often self-effacing and
doesn't put his own name down. So it's likely that this is John. So Simon Peter and John Mary
runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom
Jesus loved and saith unto them, they have taken away the Lord
out of the sepulchre and we know not where they have laid him.
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came
to the sepulcher. So they ran both together, and
the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the
sepulcher. And he stooping down and looking
in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh
Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and
seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about
his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. Then went in also that other
disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and
believed. For as yet they knew not the
scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the
disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood
without at the sepulchre, weeping. And as she wept, she stood down
and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white
sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where
the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him. And when she had thus said, she
turned herself back and 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 laid him, and I will take him
away.' Jesus saith unto her, Mary, she turned herself and
saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. Jesus saith
unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father,
but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father
and to your father, and to my God and to your God. Mary Magdalene came and told
the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken
these things unto her. Amen. May God bless to us this
reading from his word. Well, as we have already reflected,
we've already mentioned that the resurrection of our blessed
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, is being commemorated today. This is Easter Sunday and we
are aware that it has significance and symbolism as far as the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned. We remember on this day the resurrection
of the Saviour. And the world is engaged in its
celebrations in so many different ways. But for the Lord's people,
this is most significant. Because for believers, the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is a validation of our faith, a glorious validation
of our faith. The Apostle Paul tells us about
this. He emphasises, as did indeed
all of the apostles who wrote in their letters to the churches
and engaged in the ministry, this apostolic ministry, following
the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, they all testified of
the life-changing significance of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. We're told that this was a shattered
group. Their confidence had been lost,
these men, when the Lord Jesus Christ had been taken from them. And they were anxious and they
were concerned. We could have read on a few more
verses and we would have discovered that they, for fear of the Jews,
for fear of the authorities, were hidden away and gathered
together behind locked doors fearing that the same men who
had taken their Lord and crucified him, their friend and their master
and their teacher, would be so elated with their achievements
and their accomplishments that they would come after them. Having felt that they'd chopped
off the head, now they could pursue the rest of the body. And they were fearful, the disciples
were fearful. we discover that that all changed
as a result of the resurrection. It gave a new power to the message
of the gospel. And as we gather here this morning,
it is with this same theme, this same message upon our lips that
the Lord Jesus Christ is risen. So Paul, I mentioned him a moment
ago, He writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
and he says, Now I've come a long way to preach to you. I've come a long way in order
to open up the Word of God and to the best of my ability, I
trust in the way in which I've been anticipating and thinking
about this service, in the way in which I've been seeking from
the Lord a message to bring to you today, I will do so to the
honour of the Lord Jesus Christ and to your benefit, to your
good, the good of your souls. But if Jesus Christ isn't risen,
this is vain. This is a vanity. It's a vanity
that I stand before you this morning. It's a vanity that we
all gather here. We have so many other things
that we would be better spending our time doing if Jesus Christ
isn't risen. And that gives a meaning, it
gives a validation, it gives an importance to this activity
upon which we are engaged this morning. This is a precious,
precious time that the Lord has given us in allowing us to gather
here to worship. Paul goes on, he says, not only
is our preaching vain if Christ be not risen, but your faith
is in vain. Your faith is in vain. Your whole
faith and belief, your understanding of the things of God, it's meaningless. It's of no more value than the
whims and the ambitions and the ideas and the aims and objectives
of a benighted world that knows not God. It's just another whim
in the wind. But if Jesus Christ be risen,
This is the true, eternal message of God's way of salvation to
sinners, if Jesus Christ is risen. He goes on and he says, But brothers
and sisters in Christ this morning, what we have is a belief that the Lord Jesus
Christ in his death has taken away our sins. We believe that
our sins are forgiven because God has dealt with his justice,
his holiness, and he has vindicated those great characteristics,
those great qualities, those great attributes of his nature. by taking the price of our sin
and laying it upon the shoulders of His own Son, of slaying the
Lord Jesus Christ, punishing the Lord Jesus Christ for our
sin, for taking that wrath that was justly ours and exacting
it upon the soul of His own precious Son. And in that action, Jesus
Christ suffered. Jesus Christ died, the just,
for he was perfect and holy, for the unjust, that he might
cleanse us from our sins. And it is the forgiveness of
our sins and our faith in the forgiveness of our sins that
is predicated upon the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As
we look back and see that Christ is risen. This validates our
faith and our trust in the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ
and that which he has accomplished. So I say again, the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is a glorious validation of our faith, so precious
indeed. that we cannot actually consign
our remembrance of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to a
single day of the year. The world, Christendom if you
like, is commemorating the resurrection of Christ this morning and there's
a whole load of activities going on, some religious, some just
secular, as people enjoy the benefits of their Easter break
and their spring holidays. But the Lord's people remember
the Lord's resurrection regularly, frequently, weekly. Do you know
why we gather here on the Lord's Day morning? Do you know why
we gather every Sunday morning in order to worship together? Because the Lord rose on the
first day of the week. We read that together, that the
first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene. The Jews, they
worshipped God on the seventh day of the week and the Old Testament
law said, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. But that's
past, that's gone, that's done with. We don't have a Sabbath
day on the first day of the week. We have the first day of the
week upon which Christ died, upon which Christ rose. He rose
on the first day of the week and we come together to worship
the risen Christ week by week. Like that early church, we come
upon the Lord's day to worship and to remember him. And it is
our prayer every time we gather, every time we come together,
it is our prayer that like John, the evangelist, the apostle on
the island of Patmos, we might be in the spirit on the Lord's
day. That we might come here and worship
that one who promises to meet us spiritually. as we come together. This isn't
just a ceremony. This isn't just a ritual that
we are engaged upon here. We're not dedicating an hour
of our time every week to come together as if it's some kind
of insurance policy that we've got stuck away in our pocket
that, well, yes, we keep religion in our lives. And if something
happens, we've got somebody that'll visit us. If something happens,
we've got someone that'll help. If we need a minister, we know
where we can get one. These are the things that the
world finds religious religion useful for. But the Lord's people
don't think like that. The Lord's people are here for
a spiritual engagement, to hear something that will do their
souls good. and to fellowship together in
the things of the Lord Jesus Christ, to meet together, to
be in the Spirit on the Lord's day and remember the risen Christ. We're looking for a token of
his blessing, his presence here today. We're looking for a holy
encounter with the living Christ. And so we read that on the first
day of the week, when Jesus was risen early the first day of
the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. We are witnesses
every time we gather together on the first day of the week,
we are witnesses to a risen Christ. But I want to take you back this
morning to that first Lord's Day, that first resurrection
morning, because it's clear from the reading of the Gospels that
the disciples were flummoxed. Do you know that word? Flummoxed,
that's a good old word. They were confused. They were
disorientated. They couldn't understand what
was happening. They couldn't grasp. what this
was all about. They had ideas and ambitions. They had aspirations. They thought
they knew what the Lord was doing. They thought that the Lord, just
a few days earlier, he had ridden into Jerusalem on the back of
a donkey and people had taken their coats off and laid them
in the street. They'd climbed the trees and
hacked off branches and put them down so that he could walk in,
as it were, on a carpet of honour into Jerusalem and they cheered
him and they praised him to such an extent that the Pharisees
said, rebuke these people, rebuke them because they're worshipping
you as if you're God. And the Lord said, if these people
closed their mouths, the very stones would praise my name. And the disciples couldn't understand
that change that had occurred in these few hours. Ah, the fickleness
of the mob, the fickleness of the crowd. One day you're a celebrity,
the next day nobody knows your name. And nobody cares. You see, so the Lord Jesus Christ
had been a hero, he had been a king in waiting, he had been
the prince elect, ready to take over the reigns of the nation
and lead his people to glory. And the next thing, he's on a
cross and he's dying and he's dead and he's in the ground and
the disciples were completely flummoxed. What had happened? They didn't
know what had happened and they didn't know what was happening.
They didn't know what was happening to them. And I don't want to
be too critical of these men and women this morning. I'm not
going there. I'm not going to be speaking
critically of the disciples because I know that grief, and surely
these men were going through grief, these disciples were grieving. I know that grieving can numb
the mind sometimes and so disorientate us that difficult to concentrate
on anything and perhaps some of you have experienced things
like that. Yet I want for us for a few minutes
to notice something of the struggle that these men were going through
as they tried to come to terms with the growing evidence of
the Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection. John chapter 20 verse 9, we read
it together earlier, says this, For as yet they knew not the
Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. I want to just emphasize that
word must in there. The Lord Jesus Christ, from the
moment that he was born, was going to die on the cross.
That was the plan. That was known. and it was revealed
in Old Testament prophecy and it was attested to throughout
his life. But also the resurrection had to take place. There was
a must about that. The Lord Jesus Christ must be
raised from the dead. And they knew not the scripture
that he must rise again from the dead. And that's the reason
why these men were so confused. Their confusion was that they
didn't yet know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
And I think to myself, how is that possible? How is it possible
that as yet they knew not that Jesus must rise from the dead? They are hearing that Christ's
body is no longer in the tomb. They are hearing from the women
that first went there to the sepulchre, to the grave, just
a place cut out from a rock where a body was placed. They're hearing
that the stone has been removed, the guard has been sent packing, and the body of Christ is no
longer, he's risen from the dead. And despite all that had been
given to them as evidences, they still struggled to understand
what was happening. They still couldn't believe.
So, how long have I got? I'm just kidding. But I have
got seven clues that these people missed. seven clues that they
missed to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm
going to go through them quickly this morning and show you seven
clues that were given to these disciples that ought to have
directed them, made them realize what it was that was happening.
And the disciples missed them and the rest of the world missed
them. And I trust that they will help
us to know the things of the Lord and his purposes for us
today also. To confirm our faith and to strengthen
us in trial and to reassure us. So here's the first one. Prophecy
foretold that Jesus Christ must rise from the dead. Prophecy
foretold it. And we read together in Psalm
16, one of the key prophecies with respect to the resurrection. David had prophesied concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are told in Acts chapter
two, Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost, that when David
wrote Psalm 16, Peter's words, he seeing this
before, speak of the resurrection of Christ. So in those days between
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the falling
of the Spirit at Pentecost, those 50 days that were between the
resurrection and the Pentecost, Peter had realised that the Old
Testament spoke of these things. The Lord had taught him. And
had he had eyes to see before this, he would have grasped the
significance of this verse. He's seeing this before spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul, Christ's soul,
was not left in hell. Neither his flesh, Christ's flesh,
would see corruption. Christ is that Holy One of God
that David was speaking about. It's so obvious when we look
at it now. It's so obvious when we look
at these things as it were with New Testament eyes. This one
who would not see corruption is God's holy one. He would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne. This is not David, but David's
greater son that is being spoken of. And the picture is of a spiritual
revelation. Why did Peter not grasp this
before? Because it took a spiritual revelation
to reveal that to him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one. There was a dawning awareness. And isn't that a lovely picture
of the conversion of a sinner? how that as we are brought to
a greater realisation of who the Lord Jesus Christ is, that
the Holy Spirit ministers to our hearts, ministers to our
souls, ministers to our minds and gives us that dawning realisation
that this Christ, this Christ of history, this Christ of time,
this Christ who walked upon the earth is true God, the Holy One
of God. and he is risen from the dead. So that's the first one, prophecy
foretold. Number two, the covenant purpose
of God required that Christ be raised from the dead. God has
a people in this world. He has a people in this world
that he chose from eternity. A people that he loves with an
everlasting love. And that people must be brought
to him. That people will not die. That
people will live with him eternally in heaven. That people will comprise
his church. That people will comprise the
bride of Christ. and he is united to them. There is going to be a marriage
feast in a day to come, but he is already united to them because
they have been given to him in eternal purpose and in the covenant
of peace. And in John chapter 12, verse
24, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks about this people and about this
covenant. And here's what he says. Verily,
verily, truly, truly, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall
into the ground and die, it abideth alone. A corn of wheat, it has
to fall into the ground and die or else it'll abide alone. But
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. You see, in order
for God to gather in that covenant people, the Lord Jesus Christ,
he who was the seed, he who was that grain of corn, that corn
of wheat, that's one of the names that's given to the Lord Jesus
Christ in scripture, he is called the seed of the woman. And what
would the seed of the woman do? He would have his heel bitten.
but he would bruise the serpent's head. That was the seed of the
woman. They call that the Proto-Evangel. That's the gospel right at the
very beginning of Genesis. that the Lord Jesus Christ as
the seed of the woman would bring life to his people. He would
fulfil the covenant obligations of the father to the redemption
of his people. In Galatians 3, verse 16, we
read of this picture of the seed, Christ being the seed, with reference
to Abraham. and the promises that were given
to Abraham and the covenant promises that were given to Abraham. And
it says this, now to Abraham and his seed, who's the seed? Christ, were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one unto thy seed, which is Christ. So there was a promise made to
Abraham, but that promise had already been made to Christ.
God the Father had promised Christ a bride, had promised Christ
a people. And that corn of wheat had to
go into the ground before the life of the resurrection would
be available for that people that were committed to his care.
Prophecy foretold it, covenant purpose required it. Sovereign
grace promised it. Sovereign Grace promised that
the Lord Jesus Christ would rise from the dead, and the disciples
missed it. They missed it. In Matthew chapter
12, verse 39 and 40, we read of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking
to some of his enemies. This is what the verses say.
He's answered and said unto them, These people were seeking a sign. They were seeking a sign that
would show them that the Lord Jesus Christ had authority. And
he said, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. You know, any time you encounter
somebody saying, if God would just do something, then I'd believe. If God would just do something,
if God would just show me something amazing, something miraculous,
something wonderful, like maybe making someone rise from the
dead or healing someone or giving someone sight, if God would just
do something like that, then I would believe. Show us a sign
and we'll believe you. What does the Lord say? An evil
and adulterous generation. That's what an evil and adulterous
generation seeks for, a sign. There shall be no sign given
to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three
days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son
of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The story of Jonah, the account
of Jonah is an amazing story in the history of the Old Testament. It's almost unbelievable. If
you look at the sheer narrative, a man taken into a fish's belly
and there praying to God from the depths of the ocean, from
the depths of the sea. and it would be familiar to everyone. It's familiar, even the children's
storybooks that you see in the Bible bookshops these days and
in the school classroom invariably. It's Jonah and the whale. Everybody
knows the story of Jonah. And would this people, would
these Jews not have known the story of Jonah? Of course they
did. And what was the Lord telling them? He was telling them that
that was the sign that they'd been given. Jonah in the whale
was the sign that the Lord Jesus Christ, like Jonah, must be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The evidence
was there, the clues were all there, and yet they missed it. That experience of Jonah was
a sign, it was a message, it was a graphic description and
lesson of what was to come. And that's a lesson for us because
these stories all speak to us. These accounts all speak to us.
It's Old Testament narrative. All speaking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what he said to the two
on the road to Emmaus. Remember these two people walking
to Emmaus and they were talking together about the things that
had happened. The Lord Jesus Christ had just died. He meets
them on the road to Emmaus. He's walking with them and he
says, Don't you understand that the Old Testament scriptures
are your lessons to teach you about me? Beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he showed that they were all speaking of
him. Now we might have to spend some
time in the whale's belly. Do you know what that means,
spending time in the whale's belly? It means going through
difficult times, but not just difficult times with relationships,
or difficult times with money, or difficult times with the boss
at work, or difficult times in life's experience. That's not
it. Everybody has that. To be in a whale's belly is to
go through a spiritual time of conviction. And if you are brought
through that time of spiritual conviction, then you will also
be brought to the testimony and the statement that Jonah made
at the time in his experience, which was simply this, salvation
is of the Lord. because that's the only terminus,
that's the only end point that will ever bring you out of the
whale's belly, out of that period of conviction, out of that period
of hurt and that period of trial will be that admission that salvation
is of the Lord and that is what The Lord Jesus Christ was telling
these people, salvation required the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. Okay, that's three. Here was another clue that was
given. The miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ anticipated the
resurrection from the grave. In John 11, verse 44, the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking, and he says, or John is writing about
what the Lord has said, and he has just called forth Lazarus
from the tomb. And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound
about with a napkin. That must have been some sight.
You know the pictures of the mummies that you see in the movies
coming out of the graves? That must have been what it was
like. Bound, about with a napkin, bound hand and foot with grave
clothes. Here is a corpse emerging from
a grave. Martha says, Lord, don't do that. He stinks already. He's already
starting to corrupt. And Jesus saith unto him, Loosen,
and let him go. You see, the power that Christ
had over death was evidenced in the miracles that he performed.
And yes, we could look at all the miracles. We could talk about
the bread, being able to feed 5,000, and how the material things
were in his control. We could talk about him calming
the storm in the midst of the Sea of Galilee. Peace be still. We could speak about him giving
sight to the blind or strength to the legs of the lame or those
paralytics that came to him or the woman with the issue of blood
and there are a multitude of miracles that speak of the power
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But nothing speaks of divine
power like having the power of life and death. And Jesus Christ
raised people from the dead. That's staggering, that ought
to amaze us, the simple fact that that statement is given.
Show me a doctor, show me a consultant, show me anyone in this world
today that can look at the corpse that's been dead for three days
and say, arise, come forth. But the Lord Jesus Christ did,
and his disciples were standing there. And the Lord prayed to
his father and he said, Lord, it's not for me, it's for the
benefit of these who are here. This is a witness. This Lazarus
coming forth is a witness to these who stand around about.
Because it showed the power that was vested in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if the Lord had power, over
life in the experience of others than he had it for himself. There
are three occasions when the Lord, it appears, raised the
dead. The woman of Nain's son, Jairus's
daughter, and Lazarus. And then again, he raised himself. No man taketh my life from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down.
Remember the Lord said on the cross, into thy hands I commit
my spirit. And then he gave up the ghost. It was a willing giving up of
the ghost. He wasn't slain by the hands
of men. No man had the power to take
the Lord Jesus Christ's life. 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. And the Lord's giving life to
others, it might have inspired these disciples to hope. Yet
even those miraculous events seem to pass them by. Do you ever feel hopeless? Do you
ever feel that you're without hope? Well, I hope it doesn't
sound banal, but don't do that. Don't ever think that you are
in a hopeless situation. If you seek grace, if you seek
life, if you seek salvation, then you will find it. Come unto
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Note the fact, because that's
the point of the witness of Christ with Lazarus and these others.
Note the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ has power over death. And if he has power to bless
others, then why not you? And why not me? He has won the
victory. He has won the victory. And therefore
there is hope for you and for me. That's four. Here's the fifth one. The Saviour
forewarned that he was going to rise from the dead. He warned
his enemies that they wouldn't be able to hold him. They challenged his authority.
John chapter two, verse 19. They had challenged his authority
when he went into the temple and he overthrew the money changers'
tables and he was ridding the place of all of the commercialism
that had attached to religion. Commercialism attaching itself
to religion, there's a new thing, right? Not much. And they said
to him, by whose authority do you do this? Well, the Lord answered
them in this way. He said, destroy this temple,
and in three days, I will raise it up. And they laughed at him. He said, this temple's been decades
in the making. 46 years, I think it was that
they said. It's been decades in the making.
Are you going to be able to build it in three days? And throughout
his life, his enemies tried to kill him and they were thwarted
in doing so. That's man's religion for you.
Man's religion speaks about life and it speaks about liberty and
it speaks about freedom, but it always wants to kill somebody.
It always wants to stop somebody else speaking. Oh yes, it's freedom
for us, and it's liberty for us, but it's imprisonment for
you, and we'll punish you until you agree with us. That's the
religion of man. And the Lord Jesus Christ knew his
enemies' hearts. He knew that they were incredulous. He knew that they did not believe.
In John 2 verse 21 says, but he spoke of the temple of his
body. He knew that they were after
him to kill him, but he spoke of the temple of his body. What's
he saying? You destroy this temple and after
three days I will raise it up. He had told them. told them,
his very enemies, that within three days he would be raised
up, he would be risen again from the dead. John chapter 2 verse
22 says, when therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples
remembered that he had said this unto them, and they believed
the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. This world is still being told
about what the Lord Jesus Christ is going to do. He said to his
enemies in that day, you kill me and after three days I'll
raise myself up. He is telling the world today
that there is a judgment coming. He is telling the world today
that he will hold all men accountable for the things that they have
said and the things that they have done and the things that
they have thought. They didn't believe him then.
Will they believe him now? The same one spoke then as has
promised what he's going to do in the future. Will you only,
like these disciples, believe it once it's happened? What's
that for faith? We believe what the Lord says
now. Here's the sixth reason, the
sixth clue that these people missed. The Lord Jesus Christ
thoroughly taught that he would rise again from the dead. Why were these disciples so dumb? Why were they so slow at grasping
these things? In Matthew chapter 16, verse
21, we read, from that time forth began Jesus to show unto his
disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many
things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed
and be raised again the third day. That was what he taught
them. From that time forth, he went
systematically through the teaching, making sure that his disciples
were given all the information necessary to appreciate and understand
what was going to happen to him. And yet, they just didn't seem
to grasp it. And how dull and how slow we
are to believe the scriptures. We spoke about those two on the
road to Emmaus, and I think it's as pertinent to us as it was
in days gone by. The Lord says to them in Luke
chapter 24, then he said unto them, O fools and slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have spoken. It wouldn't be polite
for me as a guest and a visitor here this morning to call you
fools. The Lord Jesus Christ says that
all those who deny God, all those who do not believe God are fools. And they've said in their heart,
no God, no, I will not believe. No, I will not hear you. No,
I will not follow you. And they're fools. And they're
slow to hear and understand the things that have been testified
in scripture concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is
risen from the dead. The grave is defeated. Heaven's
doors have been flung open. Redemption is accomplished. Forgiveness is won. Why will you not believe? Why
will you not believe? God be merciful to us. God softened our hearts to receive
the message of the gospel of life in Christ. And the seventh and final statement
is this, that the Lord Jesus Christ clearly and unambiguously
told his disciples that he was going to rise from the dead.
All these other things that we've noted, whether it was prophecy,
whether it was his enemies' accusations, whether it was the miracles that
he performed, whether it was his systematic teaching, they
all arrive at this point that Jesus Christ said it's going
to happen. In Mark 14, verse 28. You know, sometimes we just don't
see what's in front of our face. He says, after that I am risen,
I'll go before you into Galilee. After I've risen from the dead,
I'll go before you into Galilee. Could it be clearer than that? Was it a bad memory? Was it careless thinking? Was
it a lack of attention? Maybe words meant a different
thing. Maybe risen meant something different
to them. Maybe they didn't think about
the grave and rising from the dead. Maybe they were thinking
about risen to power or risen in prominence or risen in the
esteem of the world. But surely all the signs were
there. All the signs, all the clues
had been given, and all the disciples missed every one of these clues. None foresaw, none of them believed
that the Lord had risen from the dead. And that's the weakness of our
flesh. That's the inability of the flesh. That is the antagonism,
the opposition, the rebellion. That is the nature of man. That
is man putting his heel to the ground, stamping his foot and
saying, no, no. The great lesson for us, I think,
is this. But no matter what evidence God
gives to his will and his ways, his works, his accomplishments,
his achievements, his purpose, we will not believe. We just
won't. It's not in our nature to believe.
It's not in our heart to believe. And it takes a spiritual illumination
and a spiritual awakening. And we won't trust the Lord until
the Lord is pleased to give us that new life. We won't believe
in him until he is pleased to convict us and take us into that
whale's belly of our own experience and show us that salvation is
of the Lord. It is not of man, it is not of
the flesh, it is not of our works, it is not of our doing, but it
is a free gift of sovereign grace to sinners. Let's turn to Luke chapter 24. I've got a few verses that I
want to read. Luke chapter 24. Look at verse 36. The disciples were all huddled
together in this little room. They'd locked the doors. They
were frightened that the Jews were going to come and arrest
them. And they were speaking together about the things that
they had heard. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, peace
be unto you. But they were terrified and frightened
and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them,
Why are ye troubled, and why do these thoughts rise in your
hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself. Handle me and see, 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 wonder, he said unto them,
have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of
broiled fish and honeycomb, and he took it and did eat before
them. And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake
unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the
prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. Look at verse 45. Then opened
he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. And said unto them, thus it is
written, and thus it behoves Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the scriptures. Here's my conclusion. Our blessed
saviour has granted understanding to fools and slow of heart. He's taught us He's taught us
in his word, he's taught us by his actions, he's taught us by
the gospel of Jesus Christ and by his spiritual illumination
to look to him and to see in him new life and peace with God. Except he does so, we shall remain
in ignorance. Despite knowing the scriptures,
as these men clearly did, as the Pharisees and the scribes
clearly did, all the evidence, all the clues set before them,
and yet they missed them, every single one. Except the Lord build
the house. They labour in vain that build
it. And so it is the work of God, it is the work of Jesus
Christ, and it is the work of God, the Holy Spirit, to illumine
and to inspire and to invigorate those who are foolish and dull
and dead in their sins. And there's another final lesson
for all of us, I think, in this. Be gracious with one another.
be gentle with one another, and be gracious and gentle with those
who are still in their ignorance. For the Lord has not yet revealed
it unto them what he has perhaps revealed unto you. All we have
is a gift of grace None of us have the right to boast over
another. None of us have the right to
berate those who do not yet know the truth. And all of us can say, there
but for the grace of God go I. In 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7,
the apostle Paul says, who maketh thee to differ? Why do you understand
that this is Jesus Christ risen from the dead when all of these
other clues were missed by other people? Who maketh thee to differ
from another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it? He said unto them, thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise
from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things. Brothers and sisters, friends
in Wellingborough here today, you are witnesses of these things.
You are his witnesses here in this town. You are his witnesses
in your community, in your families, amongst your friends, to the
people that you work with. You are his witnesses. You are
the witnesses of a risen Christ because this understanding, this
illumination has been granted to you. And what are you going
to do with that illumination? What are you going to do with
that witness? You know what the word witness
means? It means to know. It means to know, to have knowledge. You have that knowledge if you're
one of Christ's. If that new life of Christ, that
resurrection Christ is in you, then you are his witness. And
you're a witness to this fact, that repentance and remission
of sins is to be preached in his name. What are the facts? The facts are that he suffered,
that he died, that he rose again. What are the consequences? To remove and to remit the sins
of his people. And that is a fit message for
us to take to this community and take to the ends of the earth. May the Lord open our eyes, may
he open our understanding to the teaching of scripture, and
may he give us eyes to see and ears to hear the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.