Turn with me please to Matthew chapter 28. Matthew the 28th chapter. The title of my message this evening is The Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's read verses 1 through 10 together.

Matthew 28 verse 1. 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, and 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 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, Fear not ye, for I know that you 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, that is, with reverence 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 worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid. Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they

The resurrection of Christ is the single greatest event in the history of the world. Now, that may seem strange to you. You might think, well, surely the incarnation, surely the crucifixion would rank right up here with the resurrection. And in a sense, they do. But the resurrection, I say, is the single greatest event in the history of the world for these reasons.

Without it, our Savior's incarnation his life of obedience, and his death upon Calvary as our substitute would be altogether without meaning and without value. The resurrection is that which attests that everything Christ did for us, he has effectually accomplished to the full satisfaction of the justice of God.

The resurrection of our Lord is so vital a doctrine that those who deny it deny Christianity altogether. I realize that there are many who on the basis of rationalism and human intellectualism, judging things according to science and according to reason, they say the resurrection's impossible. And they may pretend to do honor to the word of God and pretend to be Christian, but those who deny the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, I mean deny that he literally in a body came out of the grave Those people are no more Christian than folks who say God does not exist.

Those who deny the resurrection deny Christianity altogether. Without the resurrection, there would be no such thing as Christianity. Without this, we are yet in our sins. Our faith is vain, our hope is a delusion, and our religion is a mockery to our souls and the souls of other men who are influenced by us. If Christ was not raised from the dead, then redemption was not accomplished. Justice was not satisfied. He is not God, and we are yet under the wrath and curse of God in our sins.

This is exactly how Paul reasons in 1 Corinthians 15. Listen to this, verse 13. If there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. That is, Paul saying, if there is no hope of our future bodily resurrection, then it's certain that Christ has not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain. Our preaching's a joke. Our preaching is a mockery to yourselves. Our preaching's meaningless, and your faith is just as vain. Your faith also is vain. Then in verse 17 he says, and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, you're yet in your sin.

Now today, we seldom hear much concerning the resurrection, except along about Easter time, folks talk about the influence of the resurrection psalm. But that was not the case in the New Testament. This doctrine was such a prominent doctrine in the New Testament that the scriptures tell us that men in the New Testament went everywhere preaching Jesus and the resurrection, over and over again, through the Book of Acts and through the We read after the resurrection of our Lord that the disciples went everywhere preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

That is to say, they preached salvation accomplished for sinners through the crucified Christ, attested to, verified, made certain by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2, he preached Jesus and the resurrection. First, he declared to the Jews how that they were guilty of his death, and then he said, God raised him from the dead. This is what he preached in Acts chapter 4 before the Sanhedrin, and this is what he preached in Acts chapter 10 when he called Cornelius and his house together and preached to the Gentiles.

His message, both to the believer and to the unbeliever, to the Jew and to the Gentile, to the learned and to the unlearned, was Jesus and the resurrection. That is, redemption, salvation, grace, coming to sinners through Jesus Christ, who by his death and resurrection declares sin to be put away.

The Apostle Paul preached the resurrection constantly. Wherever he went, this was his message. You can look them up at your leisure, but jot these down if you'd like to. In Acts 13 in the synagogue in Antioch, Paul preached Christ and the resurrection. When he was gathered before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23, he preached Christ and the resurrection. Before Felix the governor, before King Agrippa, to the church at Rome, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Colossians and Ephesians, to the Philippians, the apostle Paul constantly preached Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead.

He said to the church at Philippi in Philippians chapter 3 verse 10 that he longed to know Christ, to know Jesus Christ his Lord, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. He said, I want to know him in the power of his resurrection to such a degree that his resurrection power makes me and all things conformable unto his death, submissive to him as he was submissive to God the Father.

Peter spoke of our living hope through the resurrection. In 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3, he 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 or living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That is, we have this living hope, we have been born again by the power of the risen Christ.

In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us that our faith in Christ is the result of that same power by which Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Turn over to Ephesians chapter 1 for a moment. Ephesians, the first chapter. I want you to see this. I recognize that many today talk about faith as though somehow this is something men muster from within them. This is something that men create within them. This is something that is attributed to the will and to the power of man. But here in Ephesians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul prays for our understanding in the things of God. And he says in verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe according to the working of his mighty power," get it now, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead.

How is it that sinners come to believe? If God is pleased this night to give you faith in Jesus Christ, God exercises the very same power in your soul that He exercised when He raised Jesus Christ from the dead. You see, the new birth is the resurrection from the dead. The new birth raises men from death unto life by the power of God Almighty.

In Revelation chapter 1, Verse 17, John tells us how that he saw Christ and heard Christ, the risen, exalted Christ. He said, When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death.

Our Lord himself declares his resurrection to be the foundation and cornerstone of our hope. He says in John 11 25, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And then in chapter 14, he said, in a little while, just a little while, and the world seeth me no more, but you shall see me because I live, you shall live also.

He did not rise from the dead as a private person, but as a public representative. The Lord Jesus arose from the dead as our substitute and surety. And so he said, because I live your surety, because I live your substitute, because I live your representative, you shall live also by virtue of your union with me.

Now you cannot avoid seeing this matter clearly established in the New Testament as you read through the Scriptures. In fact, the resurrection of Christ, I was thinking about it this afternoon, I believe, I believe it is the only thing revealed in Scripture that the apostles, by inspiration, make any effort to prove.

Now you think about that a moment. I know a lot of fellows give themselves a great deal of time to apologetics, that is to defending the faith and proving the faith. Demonstrating to men who believe not that the faith is real, that we have a real basis for believing the word of God. The fact is we cannot convince men who have no faith that the things of God are so apart from faith. It can't be done. So apologetics in that sense of the word as being a basis by which we appeal to men and their reason that they should believe the gospel is certainly a farce.

But the things that are revealed in the scriptures usually are simply stated. They're just stated. For example, where in the Bible do you find any argument to prove that God is? Just not there. In the beginning, God. Where in the Bible do you find any argument to prove the doctrine of the Trinity? It's just not there. There are three that bear record in heaven. The Father, the Word, the Holy Spirit. These three are one. Where in the Bible do you find any, any evidence, any collaboration to prove that God created the heavens and the earth? It's just not there. Well, surely we ought to, we ought to purchase our faith with scientific historical data. Oh no, no, no, no. You will never believe God if you bring the Word of God to your reason and to human science to say, now prove it to me, then I'll believe it. That'll never happen.

we believe God, and on the basis of God's revelation, we walk before him in faith. And yet, with regard to the resurrection, it is presented in the scriptures with such irrefutable clarity, with such irrefutable evidence, evidence upon evidence upon evidence upon evidence, that any reasonable man, any honest and he searches the scriptures, and even just searches history, cannot deny the resurrection.

Someone I read, a lawyer I was reading today who was giving evidence concerning the resurrection, he said, if you cannot believe the evidence concerning the resurrection, then nothing in history can be proved to you. That's exactly right. Listen to what the apostle tells us in 1 Corinthians 15. Turn over there to chapter 15 in verse 3. This thing wasn't done in a corner. The evidence is simply overwhelming. So overwhelming that it would be impossible to prove anything in the world to that person who willfully rejects this.

The Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 3, I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at one time. The greater part remained under this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the And last of all, he was seen of me also as one born out of due time. For I am the least of all the apostles that did not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

Now, notice Paul does not even give us a full listing, but he says he was seen of Peter, then he was seen of 500 brethren at one time. This is not one of those UFO sightings. Five hundred fellows at one time saw him. At one time, Thomas stuck his hand in his side. Thomas felt it. He felt it. Then he was seen of all the apostles. And Paul says, at last, he was seen of me too. We've seen the Lord. This is well evidenced, established fact of history.

Someone once said the resurrection of Jesus is the Gibraltar of Christianity and the Waterloo of infidelity and rationalism. And he was exactly right. J. C. Ryle wrote this, It is the crowning proof that he has paid the debt which he undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle which he fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our surety and our substitute by our Father in Heaven.

Thanks be unto God He who was delivered for our offenses did not remain in the grave, but he is raised again for our justification. Not raised again to accomplish it. It was accomplished when he cried, it is finished, when he with his own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, but he was raised again for the declaration of our justification, so that we have a full receipt open for everyone to see. Those for whom Jesus Christ died are now free from sin.

Behold the risen Christ. Look into the grave. He is not here, but he's risen. That means our sins are gone. All right, now as we look at this passage of Scripture and meditate on the resurrection, I want to show you five things about the resurrection. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the dead. is the proof of our redemption by his blood, and it is the basis of our confident hope that we too shall be raised from the dead. So let's look at these five things together.

First, the glory of it. As we meditate upon the resurrection of our Savior, we should always have a sense of the glory of it. We are told by Matthew that there was a great earthquake in our Then we are informed that 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, his clothing, as white as snow."

Now, our Lord didn't need the help of this angel to get out of the grave. This angel was sent by God because God the Father was pleased to make the resurrection of his son a glorious event, accompanied with signs and wonders that were attested to by those who beheld him. Therefore, when his son arose conqueror of death, hell, and the grave, God shook the earth, just like you and I would shake a piece of paper. He shook the earth, and he sent an angel from heaven, wrapped up in glory, like the lightning shining like the sun in its noonday billions. God said, I want you to know, my son is risen from the dead. My son is risen again. Our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead, triumphant and glorious.

And I stress this fact because we need to always remember that our Lord's resurrection was a type, a pledge, and a picture of our own. As the grave could not hold the Son of God more than three days, it could not hold him beyond his appointed time. So the grave shall not be able to hold Rex Bartley beyond your appointed time. Yes, these bodies shall go to the earth. We shall die. Our bodies shall dissolve in the dust of the earth. But at God's appointed time, at that time which he appointed before the world began, we shall arise triumphant over death, hell, and the grave."

Sometimes I'm asked by people who don't know me, Mother Don, do you really believe in a literal resurrection of the body? Do you really believe that those people who have been devoured by sharks at sea, those people who have been burned at the stake and their ashes scattered across the waters, Those people's bodies will go back to the earth and be eaten of worms. Do you really believe that they shall be raised from the dead? How do you explain that? With one word. With one word. God. That's all. That's all. Now you cannot explain it otherwise. You cannot begin to understand it otherwise. The only way on this earth you can grasp this is if you understand that God does it. As God created us out of nothing, it's no trouble for him to raise us up from the dead.

My soul, as the angel of the Lord witnessed his resurrection, so the angels of the Lord of glory shall both witness and be instruments of our resurrection in glory. They shall gather God's elect in the day of his harvest. He sends them forth to gather his fruit into his barn, and as our Savior arose with a renewed body, but still a recognizable material body, so too we shall rise with glorious celestial bodies, and yet material bodies recognized and known just as we are known right now. Now, I don't understand all I know about that, but I know it's so. I know it's so. We will be just as recognizable then as now, and yet just as glorious in our celestial bodies as Jesus Christ is right now in his celestial body. Take comfort, my brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. Be patient. There is a day soon coming when you and I shall appear with Christ in glory.

" Here, we often meet with trouble, trials, sorrows, and persecutions. In this world, our lot is one of suffering, weakness, pain, disease, bereavement, and death. But glory awaits us. When we see Him, we shall be mighty for we shall see him as he is.

Second, I must speak a word to you who are yet without Christ about the terror of it, the terror of his resurrection. And listen to me, listen to me. I'm talking to you who have no faith. not just to you who have never professed faith, to you who have no faith. I'm talking about no faith in Christ. No saving faith. To you who are yet without the Son of God.

Whenever you think of the last day, that great day of the resurrection, do not forget the terror that sees these soldiers when our Lord appeared risen from the dead, and all they saw was an angel. They didn't see the risen Lord, all they saw was an angel. And they didn't really see the angel, they just saw the glory that appeared with the angel, that's all. And these hard soldiers, these bloody men who were not moved by anything, they saw the stone go away, and the angel sitting wrapped up in glory, shining like lightning, and in the sun, they froze with terror. They froze dead in their tracks.

And for the fear of him that is the angel, we read in verse four, the keepers did shake and became as dead men. Now what terror do you reckon will seize your soul in that day? How will you react to the blast of God's trumpet? You say, Brother Don, you're trying to scare me. Yes, sir, I am. I sure am. I try my best to scare you right into the arms of Christ, and yet I know that the fear alone will not do it. But I want you to know what awaits you.

When Jesus Christ, our great God, appears in glory, and his avenging angels appear with him and with ten thousands of his saints in vengeance to take judgment upon the earth, when the great white throne is established, then fear and terror will singe your soul. You'll be unable to speak. very soul will quake and wail before God. When you see him whom you have pierced, and you cannot hide from his presence, when being a member of a church won't do you any good, when having the right creed won't do you any good, when having a profession won't do you any good, When you find out your bed is so short, you can't stretch on it, the covers are so narrow that you can't wrap yourself in them, when you find that your refuge of life is no refuge at all, then I'm telling you, terror will seize your soul, and it ought to right now.

Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also who hear and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. In that day, in that day, there will be such a scene of sorrow and woe such wailing, wailing, wailing of immortal souls as no human thought has ever imagined.

May God give you grace to lay these things to heart. Be wise and consider what your last end shall be. Remember There is a resurrection. There is a judgment yet to come. There is such a thing as you have never imagined that is called the wrath of God and of the Lamb.

Someone called me the other day, a friend, and asked me, said, Do you believe there's literal fire in hell? I said, I don't know. I don't know. But I do know this, whatever hell is, and whatever the fire of hell is, it's a heapsight more horrible than literal fire could ever be. Heapsight more horrible. We're talking about fire, Bob, that burns your soul, and your mind,

and your Third, I want you who are born of God, when you think of the resurrection of our Lord, always to get the comfort of it. In verse five we read, The angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that you seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come see the place where the Lord lay. Now these words were spoken by the angel and are recorded by the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit for the benefit of God's elect in every age and in every place. They are full of meaning. They tell us that we have no cause for fear in this world. We're just as fearful and unbelieving as these disciples. And we have a way of inventing fears. I don't have any idea how to explain it, but human beings, this one included, have a way of inventing fears that have no possibility of coming to pass. But our Lord Jesus sends his angel and tells us, because of his resurrection, that we have no reason to fear anything or anyone in this world or in the world to come. The angel of God says, fear not.

A preacher, you don't know what I face. It doesn't matter what you face. It doesn't matter what comes your way, what troubles you, what trials you face. The resurrection of our Lord declares that we ought to be at peace. Fear not ye. This is the best news you'll ever hear. And it came from a graveyard. He is not here. He's risen. Comes to the place where the Lord lay. This is what that means. Three things. He's not in the grave no more. He's sitting on the throne. He rules everything, everywhere, at all times, for the good of his people. He has now the pleasure of the Lord prospering in his hands. The reason Christ declares that our sins are Our sins are that which caused him to die, that for which he was buried, and now he comes forth from the grave because sin has been buried forever in the pit of forgetfulness, so that God himself remembers not the sins of his people ever again.

And now, since my Savior is King, and my sins are gone, I must say, you people sitting here, I'm convinced, are convinced of my love for you. And if I could convince you, if I could convince you, that I rule the universe, if I could convince you that everything, everything, everything, is in my hands. It would, in great measure, give you peace just to know that since we're friends and our hearts are united, your friend's in charge. Will you listen to me? He who is our He who is our Redeemer, who has put away our sins, rules everywhere and everything forever.

It's certainly true that our Lord shall appear in the clouds of heaven, and the earth shall be burned up with fire. The grave shall give up their dead, and the sea shall give up its dead. The judgment seat shall be set, the book shall be opened. Righteousness shall judge everyone and everything. The dead shall be judged, small and great. The angels of God will divide the good from the bad, and the bad shall be burned up with unquenchable fire forever. But there's nothing in all this to make us tremble. Nothing. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and washed in his blood, for onward we shall be found without spot and without wrinkle before God in that day. And when God pours out his wrath in a flood, for this earth began, and all things are dissolved, we float safely in that ark, which cannot be touched by the wrath of God, Jesus Christ the Lord, and we shall come out unharmed. then and not till then shall both the wicked and the righteous understand the psalmist's words. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Blessed are we whose God is the Lord.

Fourth, as we think of our Lord's resurrection, be sure to get the message of it. Look at verse The angel says, 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 told you. And as they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear, with reverence and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word, as they went to tell his disciples, Behold Jesus at Jesus met them, saying, All hail! And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid. Go tell my brethren that they go to Galilee, and there shall they see me.

First our Lord appeared to these two faithful women who had come to honor his body. They had been the last to leave the cross after his death, and they were the first to come to the tomb on the day of the resurrection. What a reward he gives to their faithfulness. If I could be anybody, I'd sure like to be one of these two Faithfully they ministered to him. Faithfully they waited upon him. Faithfully they believed his word. And this is the reward of their faithfulness. They were the first to see the risen Lord and hear his voice. They were the first to hear the risen Christ speak a word to a man. And they were the first preachers of the resurrection.

Say, I thought you didn't believe in women preachers. I don't. Not as public spokesmen of the gospel. That's utterly contrary to the scriptures, no matter what this modern foolish society says. But you ladies who've seen the risen Christ and heard his voice, you faithfully bear witness of him. It's as much your responsibility to do so as it is mine.

I want you to see this. Our risen Lord's first thoughts and his first words were for his people. He said, go tell my brethren. That kind of tugs at my heart. My brethren. those words deserve an eternity of thoughtful consideration. The disciples were weak, frail, erring men and women, filled with unbelief and sin, just like us. Yet the Lord Jesus calls them, my brethren,

You remember how Joseph comforted his brothers when they were terrified as they stood before him? They sold him and he said, he said, don't be afraid. I've chosen your brother whom you sold in the slave trade. I've chosen him. Everything's all right. You're my brethren. You've been it for evil. God's been it for good. And the Lord Jesus calls us my brethren.

Sadly, the disciples had not lived up to their profession. They had yielded to the fear of man, just like we often do. But Christ is still not ashamed to call them, my brethren. The Son of God looks down on Mark Henson from glory and says, This is my brother. He looks on Bobby Astor and says, He looks on Hubert Montgomery and he says, this is my brother, my brother. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. He identifies himself with us.

In Mark chapter 16, verse 7, Mark tells us that the angelic messenger was especially concerned for one of the brethren. He seems especially commissioned of God to give a message of grace and forgiveness to the most fallen. of those whom the Master calls my brethren. He said, Be sure to tell Peter your signature. Be sure to tell him. If the Son of God is not ashamed to call us brethren, let us never be ashamed to call him our brother and our master.

One last thing. I want you to carry this message of the resurrection in your heart. and I want you to enjoy the assurance of it. The fact that our Lord arose from the dead is such a vital, vital, fundamental, basic, elementary truth of Scripture that many, many things are proved to be so simply because of this fact that cannot be denied.

First, this book is the Word of God. Our Lord Jesus arose from the dead just exactly like he said he would in this book. Just exactly like he would. Our Savior is himself God Almighty. The psalmist said, the chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels. The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast descended on high. Thou hast made captive a detective. Thou hast received gifts from men. Yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord who daily loatheth us with benefits. Even the God of our salvation, He that is our God, is the God of salvation, and unto God the Lord alone belong the issues of death. Nobody has power over life and death except Him who is God, the Giver of life, and the One who brings about death.

The resurrection of our Lord assures us that redemption is accomplished. The justice of God has been satisfied for me. My sins have been put away. Everlasting righteousness has been brought in for me. And whenever Satan gets to throwing my sins in my face, And I begin to doubt my God, and my heart is flooded with unbelief. I lift my heart, the eyes, and my soul to Him who is God in human flesh, sitting in glory, and beholding the risen Christ. My heart is assured that justice is satisfied. my sins are put away, and I'm righteous before God.

Fourthly, the risen Christ assures us that all of God's elect shall be saved. He is now exalted and given power over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father gave him, to as many as he has redeemed. He will send his Spirit and cause them by his grace He shall save his people from their sins.

Fifthly, we are assured that our Lord Jesus is coming again. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me, he said. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Amen.

Let's stand together at a word of prayer. We thank you, blessed Savior, for your sin-atoning death by which our sins have been put away through the satisfaction of justice. Thank you that for three days your body lay in the earth as a dead man, even as we ought to lay forever in the heart of the earth in hell itself, cursed and condemned for our sins. but you took our place. And we thank you. We thank you for the undeniable, well-attested, well-affirmed fact of your glorious resurrection, by which you have declared in the most public manner that justice is satisfied, our sins are put away. And now as righteous men and women, believing on the Son of God, we stand accepted before God. Not on our own merit, never, but upon the merit of our crucified Savior. Make us faithful to you. For Christ's sake I pray. Amen.

God bless you.