Because He Lives
Luke 24:1-12
Introduction
Little Philip, born with Down’s syndrome, attended a
third-grade Sunday School class with several eight-year-old boys and girls.
Typical of that age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his
differences, according to an article in Leadership magazine. But because of a
creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the
group, though not fully. The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought Leggs
pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. Each receiving one,
the children were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol
for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. Back in the classroom, they
would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in
surprise fashion. After running about the church property in wild confusion,
the students returned to the classroom and placed the containers on the table.
Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. After
each one, whether flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh. Then
one was opened, revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “ That’s not
fair. Somebody didn’t do their assignment.”
Philip spoke up,
“That’s mine.”
“Philip, you don’t ever do things right!” the student
retorted. “There’s nothing there!”
“I did so do it,”
Philip insisted. “I did do it. It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”
Silence followed. From then on Philip became a full member of
the class. He died not long afterward from an infection most normal children
would have shrugged off. At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds marched
up to the altar not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher, each to
lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.
I.
The Majesty of the
Resurrection
To
really grasp the majesty of the resurrection is to understand what would happen
had there not been one. Paul in the 15th
chapter of his letter to the Corinthian church gives a defense of the facts of
the resurrection of Christ. In this
defense, he shared what life would be like without a resurrection.
A.
Preaching is incoherent (I Corinthians 15:14)
The
message of the early New Testament Church era was the resurrection. From the sermon on the day of Pentecost in
Acts 2 to the sermon of Paul in the presence of Herod Agrippa in Acts 26, from
Paul’s letters to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, and to the
Philippians, to Peter’s letter, the resurrection of Christ was central to their
message and to their ministry. That
should be no different to the New Testament church today. We are where we are and we are who we are because
of the resurrection of Christ. Had there
been no resurrection, we have no message.
Had there been no resurrection, we have nothing to offer or to
share. Our message would have no
ending. Had there been no resurrection,
our message would have no clarity. Our message
would simply be another wishful sales pitch with no internal, external, or
eternal effect.
B.
Faith is inadequate (I Corinthians 15:14).
What do
we have faith in? What could we have
faith in? Had there been no
resurrection, our faith would not be a living faith. The Bible says faith is the “assurance of
things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” in Hebrews 11:1. Without a resurrection then we can be sure of
nothing. We have no conviction about the
things to come or the things promised.
The promises of God are invalid because His promise concerning His
resurrection had not been fulfilled. Had
there been no resurrection, how could we fully believe in the power and the
sovereignty of God? Had there been no
resurrection then God is not the God of the Bible. Had there been no resurrection, then Jesus
was merely a man and nothing else.
C.
Salvation would be
incomplete (I Corinthians 15:17)
Had
there been no resurrection, then we are in our sins. Had there been no resurrection, then God’s
work of salvation is incomplete. Had
there been no resurrection, then our future is bleak. Had there been no resurrection, then we are
hopelessly mired in the mud pit of sin with no hope for escape. Had there been no resurrection, then the
words of Christ spoken on the cross of Calvary were incessant ramblings of a
dying man and His work was in vain.
D.
Hope is inflated (I Corinthians 15:18-19)
If
there had been no resurrection, then we are simply hopeless. We have nothing to live for or to look for.
E.
Christ is insufficient (I Corinthians 15:19)
If
there had been no resurrection, then Christ is not who He said He was. Had there been no resurrection, then He was
not the Son of God. Had there been no
resurrection, then He is not the Great Physician. Had there been no resurrection, then He was
not the Great Shepherd. Had there been
no resurrection, then He is not our King of Kings or Lord of Lords or Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
……But to stop there
is to miss the blessing. To stop there
is to miss the good news. To stop there
is to miss out on the greatest joy of every Christian. Because in I Corinthians 15:20, the Apostle Paul changes gears. After painting such a bleak picture of life
without a resurrection, he then goes on to share with the Corinthian church and
us “But now Christ has been raised from the dead….” And since Christ has been raised from the
dead, we can now view…..
II.
The Miracle of the Resurrection
A.
Abandoned tomb –
Oh the
joy to know that Christ is alive. Why
seek the living among the dead. Christ
did not roll the stone away to get out.
He rolled the stone away to let others see that the tomb is empty.
In the villages of
Northern India a missionary was preaching in a bazaar. As he closed, a Muslim
gentleman came up and said, "You must admit we have one thing you have
not, and it is better than anything you have."
The missionary smiled and said, "I should be pleased to
hear what it is."
The Muslim said, "You know when we go to Mecca we at
least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your
Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave."
But the missionary just smiled and said, "That is just
the difference. Mohammed is dead; Mohammed is in the coffin. And false systems
of religion and philosophy are in their coffins, but Jesus Christ, whose
kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes, is not here; He is
risen. And all power in heaven and on earth is given unto Him. That is our hope."
Oh the
marvelous, majestic, and miraculous truth that separates us from the other
“religions”. Our God is not dead, but
simply, alive. Caskets and tombs are
filled with bones but the tomb of our King still stands empty!!!
B.
Accessible door
This
stone was no lightweight. Mark 16:3,4 reads, “They
were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the
entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled
away, although it was extremely large.”
What a beautiful picture. On
Calvary we read of the veil between in the temple had been ripped in two. The place that had only been opened to a
select few now became open to everyone.
The stone has been rolled away.
The exclusive access to God which had been blocked by the large stone of
our sins kept us from coming into the presence of His mercy has now been
removed. By our own human power, we were
not able to move the stone away. Christ
through His death and resurrection has now built a bridge across wide bottomless
chasm of sin that separated man from God and now through His complete and
finished work of grace and mercy, the door is opened! The cross spanned the bridge, the
resurrection anchored it in place. What
a beautiful miraculous picture. Our King
has made a way!
C.
Answered promises
From
Job
As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. (Job
19:25)
To
Jesus
From that time Jesus began to
show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on
the third day. (Matthew 16:21)
The promise of the
resurrection has been forthcoming. When
the women went to the tomb that early on that first day of the week, they found
no broken promises. Because of the resurrection, we can know that God can keep
His promises. From His provisions to His
presence, the power to rise is a testament to His power to keep.
III.
The Message of the Resurrection
A.
Confidence
Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San
Antonio, Texas. She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips.
Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite
patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart
and it was because of Edith Burns.
When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with
her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting
beside her.
Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way:
"Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she
would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr.
Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly.
Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began
by saying, "My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?"
Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you
believe about Easter?" Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts,
going to church, and dressing up." Edith kept pressing her about the real
meaning of Easter, and finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don't call Edith into the
office quite yet. I believe there is another delivery taking place in the
waiting room."
After being called back in the doctor's office, Edith sat
down and when she took a look at the doctor she said, "Dr. Will, why are
you so sad? Are you reading your Bible? Are you praying?" Dr. Phillips
said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor and you're the patient." With a
heavy heart he said, "Your lab report came back and it says you have
cancer, and Edith, you're not going to live very long." Edith said,
"Why Will Phillips, shame on you. Why are you so sad? Do you think God
makes mistakes? You have just told me I'm going to see my precious Lord Jesus,
my husband, and my friends. You have just told me that I am going to celebrate
Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!"
B.
Comfort
Bill
and Gloria Gaither were enduring one of the most difficult times in their
life. They tell this story: We remember sitting in our living room in
agony and fear on New Year’s Eve. Across the nation, the educational system was
being infiltrated with the “God is dead” idea, while drug abuse and racial
tension were increasing. Then, suddenly and quite unexpectedly, Gloria was
filled with a sweet, calming peace. Like an attentive mother bending over her
baby, it was as if her heavenly Father saw His Gloria and came to her rescue.
Her panic gave way to calmness and an assurance that only the Lord can give.
She was assured that the future would be just fine, left in God’s hands.
As they
remembered that, the power of the blessed Holy Spirit seemed to come to their
aid. The power of Christ’s resurrection was reaffirmed in their lives and in
their thoughts. To Gloria, it was “life conquering death” as joy once again
permeated the fearful circumstances of their lives. And then the chorus to their song was
written:
Because
he lives
I can
face tomorrow
Because
he lives
All
fear is gone
Because
I know
He
holds the future
And
life and is worth the living
Just
because he lives
C.
Conquer -
Up from the grave
He arose, with a mighty triumph over His foes.
In
his book Storytelling: Imagination
and Faith, William J. Bausch shares: "In the Greek Orthodox tradition,
the day after Easter was devoted to telling jokes. . . .They felt they were
imitating the cosmic joke that God pulled on Satan in the Resurrection. Satan
thought he had won, and was smug in his victory, smiling to himself, having the
last word. So he thought. Then God raised Jesus from the dead, and life and
salvation became the last words."
Because He lives, we can know, believe, and hope that we are
in fact living a life of victory. Satan
could not defeat Him. Death could not
strangle Him. The tomb could not hold
Him. We are more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. Because of His
resurrection, we can fully be assured that nothing is in fact impossible with
God. The day will soon come, when His
victory will be final and His adversaries will find themselves kneeling in His
presence and admitting that He is Lord and King. We are not losers, we are in fact
winners. Live like it! Look like it!
D.
Confirmation
There
is proof that He lives. He was seen by
over 500. He lives in my heart
today. My life is filled with joy
because He lives within me. What greater
confirmation to know the joy and the peace that comes within our soul because
He lives.
IV.
The Motivation of the Resurrection
A.
To Walk with Christ
Lee
Strobel, who received a journalism degree from University of Missouri and a
Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School and became a journalist
for The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers for 14 years. His wife converted to Christianity and as a
result his investigative instincts took over and he wanted to see if in fact
Jesus was the son of God. His
investigative work was composed into a book entitled “The Case for
Christ”. He wrote:
“In
short, I didn't become a Christian because God promised I would have an even
happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised any such thing.
Indeed, following him would inevitably bring divine demotions in the eyes of
the world. Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling
that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by
rising from the dead. That meant following him was the most rational and
logical step I could possibly take. – Lee Strobel
B.
To Witness for Christ
Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips. Christmas came and
the office was closed through January 3rd. On the day the office opened, Edith
did not show up. Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she
would have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, "Will, I'm
very near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here next to me
in my room who need to know about Easter."
Well, they did just that, and women began to come in and
share that room with Edith. Many women were saved. Everybody on that floor from
staff to patients were so excited about Edith, that they started calling her
Edith Easter; that is everyone except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse.
Phyllis made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with
Edith because she was a "religious nut". She had been a nurse in an
army hospital. She had seen it all and heard it all. She was the original G.I.
Jane. She had been married three times; she was hard, cold, and did everything
by the book.
One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were
sick. Edith had the flu, and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot.
When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said, "Phyllis,
God loves you and I love you, and I have been praying for you." Phyllis
Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me, it won't work. I’m not
interested."
Edith said, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not
to let me go home until you come into the family." Phyllis Cross said,
"Then you will never die because that will never happen," and curtly
walked out of the room.
Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith
would say, "God loves you Phyllis and I love you, and I’m praying for
you."
One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's
room like a magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and Edith said,
"I'm so glad you have come, because God told me that today is your special
day."
Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody
here the question, 'Do you believe in Easter,' but you have never asked
me."
Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God
told me to wait until you asked, and now that you have asked." Edith Burns
took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter story of the death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Edith said, "Phyllis, do you
believe in Easter? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants
to live in your heart?"
Phyllis Cross said, "Oh I want to believe that with all
of my heart, and I do want Jesus in my life." Right there, Phyllis Cross
prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart. For the first time, Phyllis
Cross did not walk out of a hospital room; she was carried out on the wings of
angels.
Two days later, Phyllis Cross came in and Edith said,
"Do you know what day it is?" Phyllis Cross said, "Why Edith,
it's Good Friday." Edith said, "Oh, no, for you every day is Easter.
Happy Easter, Phyllis!"
Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into
work, did some of her duties, and then went down to the flower shop and got
some Easter lilies. She wanted to go up to see Edith and give her some Easter
lilies and wish her a Happy Easter.
When she walked into Edith's room, Edith was in bed. That big
black Bible was on her lap. Her hands were in that Bible. There was a sweet
smile on her face. When Phyllis Cross went to pick up Edith's hand, she
realized Edith was dead. Her left hand was on John 14: "In my Father's
house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Her right
hand was on Revelation 21:4, "And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes, there shall be no more death nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be
no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Phyllis Cross took one look at that dead body, and then
lifted her face toward heaven, and with tears streaming down here cheeks, said,
"Happy Easter, Edith - Happy Easter!"
Phyllis Cross left Edith's body, walked out of the room, and
over to a table where two student nurses were sitting. She said, "My name
is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?"
C.
To Wait for Christ
Oh what a day that will be.
Wait on Him. He will keep you
safe. He will provide for your
needs. He will lead you on to a land that
is fairer than day. Trust Him. Do not let the cares of this world wear you
down. Trust Him. Let Him handle your problems and
frustrations. He wants you to do
that. He lives. Our King lives. Wait on Him and for Him.
Conclusion
The trees which long lay bare and naked to the eyes of the
world is now showing signs of life with the soft delicate green buds forming on
the tip of every branch and twig. Their
graying trunks once quiet beneath winter’s bitter chill is now teeming with the
joyous melody of birds returning from their winter’s roost. Flowers, long dormant beneath the frosty
ground are now springing forth with vibrant colors of life. The waters seemingly halted by the thick ice
amassed on its surface are now flowing forth with the trickle of a life giving
current. Spring, a joyous celebration of
life awakening from its long winter’s nap is also a reflection of a new life of
hope. Spring is also a time in which we
find ourselves celebrating the joyous resurrection of a King that a few long
feared dead. He did not just walked out,
He busted out. The cool stone walls in
which the only opening had been sealed by an immovable rock could no longer
contain the life within much like the seeds can no longer contain the life of a
budding flower. Through every crack of
that gloomy tomb, a powerful love radiated and sprung forth and victory was
wrought by the hands of a living King, the Son of God. That is the joy of Easter. That is the reason for joy and
happiness. No longer can the fear of
death control us, but because of our relationship with Christ, we can have a
joyous life of hope. Without Christ,
there is no hope. But thankfully, our
king lives! Today, we can have a
relationship with Him.
It is all about the empty tomb. We can have a full life because of the empty
tomb of our King.
