The Resurrection (Part 4 of 4)

The Bible we read that the women made their way to Jesus tomb had come prepared with spices that come to anoint Jesus body, but they didn't find what they were expecting and they could not keep from talking about what they found today on Truth for Life. Alastair Bragg explains a very important announcement that requires a response or in Luke 24 when I read biographies I want to know that by whatever is going to get to tell me what they wondered about is a good biography.

I don't want to just know they wondered I want to know what did you wonder about Chris.

We don't have it here but they must have wondered all kinds of things missing from where we said when the advantage of all the timely five and all the things we've read was amazing. The last thing that crossed their minds would've been a resurrection. The last thing in their mind would have been that Jesus would rise so soon from the dead and would appear so dramatically to his followers. Again, let me remind you this is careful investigation. This is an orderly account follow the orderly account while they were wondering about this and while they were perplexed. Here is a reason for even more perplexity suddenly and unexpectedly, the Greek is essentially out of the blue. Two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. John tells us John chapter 20 in verse 12 he says in two angels were present helpful to me to have this described here by Luke with this kind of clinical analytical mind and he says there were two individuals whose clothing gleamed like lightning is the best he can do for an angelic supernatural encounter on their clothing was bright enough striking enough to outclass whiteness of the tomb in which Jesus had been lay by the supernatural intervention to be no surprise are not disturbed by the tall Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing or the planning they were here at the arrival of Jesus. And I'm the Angels arrived, and I wonder if some who were present on that occasion in Bethlehem were dispatched now to the scene in Jerusalem and the word came okay. I want a few of you that were down there in the fields with the shepherds to go down here to. In particular, in order that you might speak to these women and they don't just stand there looking cute.

They speak the women have been frightened. They bowed down with their faces to the ground and the men don't get into that at all. They just asked them a very straightforward question. Why do you look for the living among the dead, that there is in this kind of gentle rebuke is why you are looking for the living among the dead. If you're looking for a living person. Why did you come to the cemetery while the fight is the one looking for a living person. What they want him for a dead person. That's why they had all the stuff in their hands.

Jesus was dead. It was over they were going to anoint his body close it down, folded up here. They are looking for life in all the wrong places. William Barclay was, trees are useful ultimately can resist the opportunity at this point to suggest that men and women do the same as these particular women had done that is that they go looking for Jesus in all the wrong places they go looking for them among the dead. I really have to stop myself with great frequency in most of the bookstores of the country is I go all the time to the new age section to the philosophy section to the Eastern mysticism section to the course religious section. Whatever else it is, and invariably I find people there pulling all these books off the shelf I find attempting to get to shake people or to stand on a chair and to say why do for the living among the dead gets to the extent of the of any longing and search after spiritual reality, it is that which is placed there by the seeking searching power of God. Yet men and women are content to look for a Jesus was just a noble hero. Jesus was a research project so that their children can get an a on it as they deal with a historical figure at school.

Jesus was a wonderful example of the one thing they don't dissipate is what these women didn't anticipate, namely, arisen living empowering Jesus who walks and talks and changes their life. This is the Jesus of the New Testament were not here to revere the memory of somebody who was around. We are here to celebrate the presence of someone who is alive, I don't have a relationship with the Bible. I have a relationship with Jesus I meet Jesus in the Bible.

I hear his word in the Bible. He guides me through his truth, but I talked to him and I listen for his voice. I meet him in the company of his children and I celebrate his presence in communion and I rejoice in the fact that he is a risen Christ, but he is not a theory that I'm not in love with the philosophy that I have not been embraced by a religious notion but I mean encountered by outliving Christ and this is Christianity and this was the one thing these women didn't expect to see loved ones.

You need to understand how dad and finished and buried was the notion concerning Jesus in the minds of all these people that swear will come to later on we had hoped. He was the one who would redeem Israel. But that's all in the past so interesting that as they were frightened by the supernatural intervention, so men and women are frightened by the idea of a supernatural intervention on thick.

This might appeal to whom I speak about my fellow I must remember his name. I suspect I don't remember his name because I can be guilty of maligning him by name resist. I have this figure is a very clear figure, but he was on again this week and I someone called in and said that they were eating to get in touch with your uncle.

And he said as your uncle like cars person said no.

He said I'm seeing something about flowers.

Does that mean ending the present. No right about seven things are present. No no no no no I was I was rejoicing it. I was jumping up and down. I said this is so classic interest in séances in the dark side of things, but go to those same people and tell them of one is going through dad and does come out on the other side and the announcement of which is being made by the supernatural intervention of an angelic throng in the city. Expect me to believe that kind of thing you would be on thereby this were not for the fight of the Bible tells me that the god of this age has blinded the eyes of men and women so that they cannot actually see the truth when it is right in front of their face and they will embrace a lie before they will follow the truth whether something here that I'm sure you've already picked up on.

I want to point it out to you as a reminder to those who are at the top of the class that is that the perplexity of these women gives way at least to a measure of clarity not as a result of seeing an empty tomb. And not as a result of meeting, to angels and noticed the story here is not on.

We went over there and we saw the tomb was empty and we met a couple of angels and were back to tell you nobody couple of angels, no empty tomb plus angelic visitation minus explanation, or minus.

Interpretation equals danger. That is why you will notice the angels speak the angels speak a word the angels speak if you like the word the angels do what they bring the Bible to the women in the Bible that is yet to be calm in Scripture rated, but nevertheless, the word of Christ himself. That is why they said to him, verse six is not here he is risen. Remember remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee and any court from chapter 9 and again from chapter 18 the Son of Man. These are the words of Jesus the son of man. He told his followers must be delivered into the hands of sinful men be crucified and on the third day be raised again. And then it says and then they remembered his words. And it was when they remembered the words of Christ when they interpreted the events in light of the word. Then at that point. Confusion began to give way to clarity.

We live in an age that is fascinated by stories of the equivalent of empty tombs and angelic visitation. May I remind you of what I've told you before that the confidence of heaven is in the Scriptures, and if you want to hear from God. If you want to know God. If you want to meet God, then ultimately and finally and seemingly you meet him in the person of his son, and you are encountering his son in the pages of the Bible and that's why so many of you know so little about God because you've never really considered the Bible and that's why some of you are coming to faith in God because the Bible is starting to shine into your mind's and your realizing that the weight of faith is not by some religious mysticism. When a faith is not by the disengaging of your mental faculties but the weight of faith is by hearing the word of God and they heard the word of God, you find the same thing. Remember back in the story of the rich man and Lazarus and the rich man dies and he goes to hell and finding himself there. He so concerned that he would first of all get relief and requires water, which he is denied and then asks Abraham if somebody would go and tell his brothers about the danger of ending up in this place and you may remember how the dialogue proceeds and it finally ends up with the rich man giving orders from hell no, no, he says it's interestingly and and help people still be giving orders and still be denying and still being ranging not only says if somebody would go to my brothers, if somebody could rise from the dead and go to my brothers and tell them then my brothers would all believe Abram says if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets knows they won't pay attention to the Bible, they will not believe, even if someone were to rise from the dead know you have this very same principle here. An empty tomb and angelic visitation which is then interpreted in the light of the word of Christ himself, and that is of course a wonderful little sermon that I'll give to you that you can preach somewhere when you're doing a talk at the women remembered and then the women returned and then the women relayed the news but we wonder that sermon now. Let me draw this to a close.

The announcement of the resurrection.

You will notice verse nine and following is not an end in itself. The announcement of the resurrection as a springboard for action. Mark actually tells us that the angel said to the women I we want you to go and tell his disciples and tell Peter because it is this story. It is this news, it is the putting together of this investigative report, which is finally going to convince these folks that they have a reason to live.

There is a significance in their discipleship that there is a relevance in their proclaiming of the kingdom and so verse nine when they came back from the tomb. He told all these things to the 11 and to all the others.

Verse 10 tells us who was involved in the reporting in verse 11 tells us how the man the big noble tough guys at received this they did not believe the women because their word seemed to them like nonsense like gobbledygook, like feverish ramblings like an old wives tale the word when it is used in medical terminology. It describes the wild talk of someone who is delirious while talk of delirium. You can imagine these women appearing in on them there already having their discussions about how everything is come to a sorry end then they come with the story. Think you just your words. Some is making tea in the kitchen and they get here tomb empty stone gone. Angels remember all these words all jumbling and on top. Sorry says I wish you would all be quiet. Any sensible man can see it's all over done my dear agnostic friends. Those of you who are hanging your life's on your ability to rebut the historicity of the resurrection, ponder this.

Do we have here in the apostles, a group of men poised on the brink of belief needing only the shadow of an excuse to launch themselves forth into the Jerusalem streets, proclaiming the resurrection that we have here now we have a group of 11 complete skeptics totally unwilling to accept the woman's report prepared to dismiss it as delirious twaddle. Mirabilis there you see them and believe the women because their word seemed to them like nonsense. What a sorry bunch dejected and paralyzed company like a football team that is a soccer team that is gone in at halftime and is sitting in the locker room dejected dispirited there now losing seven nil and none of them want to go back out for the second half and the one is wearing the armband added the self-appointed spokesman Capt. in this instance, Peter hears is made as big a mess of it as anybody in the room, and indeed his voices virtually silent. There's no air in his balloon. There's no wind in his sales. He has crumbled of the questions of a servant girl and he perhaps more than any other is aware of his failure is quite wonderful is that when it says in verse 12 Peter however got up and ran to the two there we go again.

Good old Peter Jesus comes walking on the water. Peter says can I try not to say sure you want to walk on the water via people say that I have your the Christ the son of the living God toddler class preacher.

The Peter really got to Jerusalem and I'm going to die and be in a dreadful predicament is a no no you're not using get behind me Satan. If everybody bails on you, I'm your man.

I have your back what you within the low Jesus, you sound a lot like him. You need your ears cleaned on this.

I do not sound like a nice stinking well don't sound like and you understand that what we we think we saw you with a don't get me mad I want to start using bad language with you Miss by this speech or he got up to check it out. You bet your life.

He did why this was his only hope wasn't if Jesus is a lie.

If he has a message for the scatter demoralize group of which he is the self-appointed captain that maybe there's just hope for him.

There is hope for will come to the that's the wonderful story of the resurrection. There's hope for those of us who made a hash there's hope for those of us involved in our big mouse when we shouldn't, and kept our mouths quiet when we should. There's hope for those of us are stepped over thinking we could walk on water virtually drowned ourselves and everyone else along who made these great protestations of faith there's hope. Yesterday's let man when I began with the women. The first day of the week early in the morning. Women spices prepared ready actually following their hearts into the realm of disappointment and decay. Eventually their bewildered silence giving way to the topsy-turvy recounting of the site that they'd seen in the words that the inherent know when I remind you wanted to fabricate a convincing account of the resurrection in first century Palestine would have dreamed of doing it in this way, the testimony of the women was inadmissible in a court of law and God sets it up by the women will be the recipients of the news the tellers of the story. The barriers of the message. Julie insists a classic illustration of what Paul refers to. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are to ponder that I need nothing other than a matter don't you look around the company in crisis is a group of individuals able on a Sunday morning to conceal all the things that really rock our boat and wrestlers to the ground and tennis to the mat and Garces in my group because I chose the weak things the things that aren't to show the things that are the really know. By the power of the risen humbling reminder, God has chosen us to share the good news with others.

This is truthful, I should keep listening. Alastair will be back in just a minute to close with prayer. Does it surprise you that Jesus disciples found the news of his resurrection hard to believe that they needed proof an empty tomb and an announcement from Angels were not enough to convince them. So how can we know the resurrection is true, what, there's a new book that were recommending that will help you with that and today is my first opportunity to tell you about the book is titled alive of the resurrection of Christ changes everything.

And this is the perfect supplement to our current series from Alastair because it investigates the historical and biblical evidence of Jesus resurrection will benefit from discovering how the reality of Christ's victory over sin, death and hell establishes a solid ground for our faith. Requester copy of the book alive. When you give a gift of any amount. Visit us online at truthforlife.org/donate or click the image you see in the app and if you have not yet downloaded the truth like mobile app to your phone or your tablet. It's easy to do. Just search truthful in your app store and you can download it for free. Once you've downloaded and you've opened it, you can play each day's program can access Alistair's teaching. You can read the daily devotional soap search out the Truth for Life mobile app in your app store and downloaded today that here's Alastair with the closing prayer father I pray that you will forgive us when we are tempted to rely on who we are or what we think we are, as if somehow or another that we presented that which you needed in order to accomplish your purposes. You have put your treasure and old clay pots so that the transcendent power might be seen to belong to God and not to us, forgive us for thinking wrongly about these things and encourage us that you come to the beleaguered to the unbelieving to the skeptical and the confused and shining in the light of your word and filling the sales by the power of your spirit you get is often ready for another day, another mile on the journey into grace and mercy and the peace of the risen Lord Jesus Christ portion of each one who believes today and forevermore, I'm Bob Lapine can join us tomorrow when all hope seemed lost for Jesus disciples.

Something happened that made them view his death in a different way. What happened to find out tomorrow. The Bible teaching of Alastair Greg is furnished by Truth for Life learning is prolific