THE RISING SON - HE'S ALIVE !

( My First Easter Sermon ) By: Pastor Mike Stahl

Brothers and Sisters in Christ ;

As with any HOLY day , it seems that people (INCLUDING CHRISTIANS) , sometimes forget about what they represent . They seem to think it is all about THEM - when it SHOULD be about Our Lord and Savior , JESUS CHRIST !
I write this sermon a little more than a week before Easter , in hopes to remind ALL people what this HOLY day represents -and , although lengthy , it is a result of what EVEN I have been reminded of via my continuing theological studies .
I hope and pray that it will 'remind' you all of what WE ALL sometimes forget or simply don't know , due to our lack of historical Biblical research . So , Let's get started :

The young Messiah , Jesus of Nazareth , was dead . He died on the eve of the Passover , Friday , April 7 , AD 30 , about 3:00 p.m. ; on a Roman cross on a hill overlooking an old stone quarry just north of Jerusalem - a place called the Skull .
Most biographies end with the person's death . Not this one . Jesus's followers intended to give him a decent burial , but they got the surprise of their lives . His enemies got the mother of all headaches . Sin's case against believing sinners was THROWN OUT of court .

And the living church was born .

Mark 15: 44-47 ; " And Pilate marveled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. "

When Jesus died , three hours of daylight remained before the Sabbath when no work could be done . Preparing a coffin or even moving a corpse's arm or leg was specifically forbidden on the seventh day . So Joseph , a strict Jew , had to act quickly .
When Pilate heard Jesus was dead after only six hours , he was surprised . Crucifixion victims often hung on the cross for days waiting to die . Pilate quizzed the centurion in charge of the crucifixion , who confirmed Jesus's death and released the body to Joseph .

Across the quarry from Skull Hill , Joseph had prepared a tomb for his own burial ( Matthew 27:60 ) . It was cut into the soft limestone of a craggy hillside and surrounded by a garden ( John 19:41 ) .

While Joseph secured release of the body , Nicodemus gathered burial spices - probably a mixture of myrrh and aloes - to pack around the body along with " strips of linen ( strips of cloth or a single grave cloth ) . . . as the custom of the Jews is to bury " ( John 19:40 ) . Egyptian burial was designed to preserve the body from decay ; Jewish burial was designed to inhibit odors during decay .
Customary Jewish burials took place immediately , in the family tomb . The burial was followed by a week of intense grieving called shiv'ah ("seven") , then a month of less-intense mourning , called shloshim ("thirty" ) . The family continued to mourn for a year .

But Jesus was a criminal . Different rules applied .

First , an executed criminal could not be buried in his family's tomb until a year after death . Many were buried in common graves , or even thrown on the city garbage dump to burn with the trash . Second , no public mourning was allowed for an executed criminal . While Joseph and Nicodemus honored Jesus by caring for his body , in actuality , his burial conformed to the prohibitions : He was never buried in his family tomb , nor were any of the rituals of mourning conducted for him . He was buried in disgrace like any condemned criminal .

The final task in the burial was to roll a large stone (a large , flat cartwheel - like stone ; some weighing MORE THAN A TON still seen in Israel ) over the opening to the cave ( Mark 15:46 ). As the sun was setting , the two Johnny-come lately disciples completed their sad work and trudged home . Following Joseph and Nicodemus to the tomb and last to leave the burial site were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses ( Mark 15:47) .

Matthew 27: 62-66 : " Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre 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. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. "

Matthew 28 : 1-4 ; " 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 white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. "

At the crack of dawn on Sunday , a group of women headed for Joseph's tomb with spices to offset the stench of the decaying body . Either Joseph and Nicodemus were unable to finish the job before Sabbath , or the women simply wanted to do something to honor Jesus's memory .

The number of women is uncertain . Several are named . Biblical historians mention Mary Magdalene (Matthew 28:1 ; Mark 16:1 ; Luke 24:10 ; John 20:1 ) . Others who came were Mary the mother of James , called " the other Mary " ( Matthew 28:1 ; Mark 16:1 ; Luke 24:10 ) ; Salome (Mark 16:1) , Joanna (Luke 24:10 ) ; and unnamed " other women with them " ( Luke 24:10 ) .
On the way , they wondered who was going to roll that humongous stone from the entrance of the tomb ( Mark 16:3) . Not to worry !

Before they got there , the grave guards suddenly got all shook up by a violent earthquake . While they were looking around for something to hang on to , a dazzling personage appeared from nowhere , and with a flick of his little finger rolled the boulder away from the cave opening and sat on it ! The knees of battle - toughened legionnaires turned to Jell-O , and they keeled over from sheer terror .
By the time the women arrived , the guards had left for the city - there was nothing for them to guard !

Mark 16: 4-6 ; " And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. "

Finding the grave open , they went in , expecting to find the body - but the corpse was gone ! Luke says they were " greatly perplexed " ( Luke 24:4) , wondering what was going on .

Suddenly a figure in bright garments stood beside them : an angel ( Matthew 28:2) ! Some of the women , telling this incident , said there were two angels , others said one . However many , the women were terrified .

" See the place where they laid Him, " the angel said ( Mark 16:6 ) . Examination of the open tomb by the women confirmed that the body of Jesus , so carefully placed there by Joseph and Nicodemus on Friday afternoon , was no longer there .

Luke 24 : 9 , 11 ; " And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. . . And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. "

The response of the apostles and other followers of Jesus was less than enthusiastic . The Greek term translated " idle tales " ( Luke 24:11 ) is a medical term for " the babbling of a fevered and insane mind . "

The apostles and others were sure that the women's grief had driven them off the deep end ! Mary Magdalene proposed the theory that someone had moved the body without letting them know ( John 20:2 ) . She'd seen the angels , but she was apparently having trouble believing her eyes ! Peter and John decided to go see for themselves ( Luke 24:12 ; John 20: 3-10 ) . Sure enough , the grave clothes , with the spices still in them , were there , along with the cloth that covered the corpse's face . But the grave clothes were empty . After seeing the empty tomb for himself , " the other disciple [ John ] , who came to the tomb first , went in also ; and he saw and believed " ( John 20:8) . To John , empty grave clothes proved something wonderful had happened . Maybe Jesus had risen .
But " as yet they did not know the Scripture , that He must rise again from the dead " ( John 20:9 ) . Peter and John returned from the grave scratching their heads . But they would soon be convinced beyond all doubt that what the angels said to the women was a fact : Jesus Christ , crucified , dead , and buried , had risen from the dead and was alive !

Matthew 28: 11-15 ; " Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests 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 we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. "

The sum of money offered the Roman guardsmen to spread this cock-and bull story must have been significant considering the risk . A soldier who fell asleep on guard duty faced execution (Acts 12:19) . If Pilate had to be paid off to protect the soldiers , it would be a royal pain in the priestly pocketbook ! ( NOTE: The evidence for Our Lord’s life and death resurrection may be , and often has been , shown to be satisfactory ; it is good according to the common rules for distinguishing good evidence from bad . Thousands and tens of thousands of persons have gone through it piece by piece , as carefully as every judge summing up on a most important case . )
On a seven-mile hike from Jerusalem to Emmaus , a disciple named Cleopas and another , whose name isn’t given , found themselves sharing the road with a knowledgeable stranger .

The stranger engaged them in conversation for two hours about the Old Testament’s teaching concerning the necessity of Christ’s death and resurrection . Their hearts were warmed as the stranger explained the Scriptures to them ( Luke 24:32) . But they recognized it was Jesus only after they got to Emmaus and were sharing a meal with him . As soon as they knew who he was , he vanished !

Even though it was after dark , the two hurried back to Jerusalem to share the news with the eleven and others huddling with them in the Upper Room .
Unexpectedly , while Cleopas related the Emmaus incident to the jaundiced - eyed collection of apostles and disciples , Jesus himself stood in the midst of the gathering ! Even then most of the people there couldn’t believe it was really Jesus . He did four things to convince them .

1 ) Jesus dragged their nagging doubts and fears out in the open and dealt with them ( Mark 16:14 ; Luke 24:38) .
2 ) Jesus showed them his nail-scarred hands and feet and the wound in his side , to verify he was the crucified one ( Luke 24:39-40 ; John 20:20 ) .
3 ) Jesus invited them to touch him , and ate a piece of broiled fish so they would understand that his resurrection was complete - he was not a disembodied spirit , but spirit AND body ( Luke 24:39 , 41-43 ) .
4) Jesus reminded them of his predictions that he would rise from the dead , and that his rising fulfilled Old Testament prophecy ( Luke 24:44 ) .

John remembers the trickle of hope turning into a river of joy ( John 20:20 ) . Before he left them that night , Jesus gave his apostles and other disciples four extremely important things :

1 ) He gave them his Shalom . " Peace to You ! " (John 20:21) . He had greeted them this way when he first appeared in the room (verse 19) ; now he repeated it . In his Last Supper talks Jesus promised them peace more real than the world could ever give . He assured them he would keep that promise as they went out to face the world in his name .
2 ) He gave them authorization to continue Christ’s ministry : " As the Father has sent Me , I also send you " (John 20:21) . Christian disciples , therefore - are ALREADY ORDAINED - BY JESUS ! And are sent to do Jesus’ thing , not their own . The mission of Jesus’ followers in the world is not a different mission than his . It’s in a different form - through men and women who share his resurrection life through the Holy Spirit , his corporate body - but it’s HIS work they are being sent to do .
3) " He breathed on them " and urged them to " receive the Holy Spirit " to enable them to carry on his ministry (John: 20:22 ) . The actual invasion of their lives by the Spirit was a few weeks away (Pentecost , see Acts 2 ) , but in the context of being told their work was cut out for them , they needed assurance that they were not being sent out without the spiritual resources needed to do the job .
4) Jesus gave the apostles and ALL CHRISTIANS - authority to deal with other people’s sins . "If you forgive the sins of any , they are forgiven them ; if you retain the sins of any , they are retained " ( John 20:23). Jesus teaches that we are always to forgive (Matthew 18: 21-22 ) ; the apostle Paul writes that when someone is " overtaken in any trespass, " Christ’s followers are to "bear" the burden of the sinning person in an effort to "restore" him or her (Galatians 6: 1-2 ). We have Jesus’ assurance that God forgives sinners , and that He is bearing their sin as we are .

John 20:29 ; " Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

John the writer reminds his readers that the faith of those who did not see Jesus alive after the resurrection is as solidly based as the faith of people like Thomas who did see . The written record of Jesus’ life and works in the New Testament . " But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." ( John 20:31) . Believing even when you can’t see is an act of faith , and God will bless you for it .
Jesus showed up at many gatherings of his friends during the forty days between discovery of the empty tomb and His ascension . The disintegrating nucleus of the church was being irresistibly drawn together around his living presence . If you were a disciple , the best place to be was with other disciples - I mean , suppose you skipped church and Jesus showed up ?

During those forty awesome days , Jesus did the following :

1 ) Jesus made more post-resurrection appearances :
- The eleven saw Jesus on a mountain in Galilee ( Matt: 28:16-20 ; Mark : 16: 15-18) . - More than five hundred saw Jesus at a single gathering ( 1 Cor. 15:6 ) . - In Jerusalem , Jesus made a special post-resurrection visit to his biological half brother James ( 1 Cor. 15:7 ) , which turned his skeptical sibling’s life around . - Several times , in Jerusalem , Jesus met with his disciples and apostles ( Luke 24: 44-49 ; Acts 1: 3-8) . - Many followed Him outside Jerusalem to witness His ascension ( Acts 1: 9-12 ) .

2 ) Jesus did humanlike things : What was Jesus’ body like ? A ghost ? He emphatically answered , "No ! " He said , " Behold My hands and My feet , that it is I Myself . Handle Me and see , for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have . " ( Luke 24:39 ) .
- They recognized His face and voice ( Matt 28:9 ; Luke 24:31 ; John 20:16 , 19-20, 21:2 ) . - His body was recognizable by its identifying marks ( Luke 24:39 ; John 20:27 ) . - They touched His body ( Matt 28:9 ; Luke 24:39 ; John 20:17 , 27 ) . - He ate with them ( Luke 24:30 , 42-43 ; John 21:12-13 ) .

3 ) Jesus gave additional post-resurrection teachings : The things He said were vital to the work He was leaving in their hands . Face-to-face with the resurrected Jesus , His disciples understood as never before .
1 Corinthians 15:14-19 ; " And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

Paul wrote those words in about AD 56 . In this same passage he says five hundred people at the same time saw Jesus after His resurrection , of whom "the greater part remain unto this present " ( 1 Cor 15:6 ) . If any of his readers wished to do so at that time , there were eye witnesses alive and kicking who could be interviewed about it !

The Christian faith rises or falls on the reality that Jesus Christ is alive . If Christ is not alive , The New Testament historians , Matthew , Mark , Luke , John , and all the apostles , upon whose testimony the Christain faith is based , are liars !

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the test question on which the truth or falsehood of the Christian gospel turns . Either it is the greatest miracle that ever happened in the history of the world or the biggest lie ever told .

So, my friends , in conclusion , the miracle of the resurrection and the existence of Christianity are so closely connected that they must stand or fall together . If Christ was raised from the dead , then all His miracles are sure , and our faith is not in vain . It is only His resurrection that made His death available for our atonement , justification , and salvation . Without the resurrection , His death would be the grave of our hopes , we should be still unredeemed and under the power of our sins . A gospel of a dead savior would be a contradiction and a wretched delusion .

May You All have a BLESSED Easter , and May we ALL - PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME !! I Leave you with the words in Mark 16:19-20 ; " So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. "