Luke 24:1-7

Luke 24:1-7Luke 24:1-7

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Luke 24:1-7Luke 24:1-7 And it happened, as they were greatly

perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

Why is Easter so important?Why is Easter so important?

The Crowning Proof of Who Christ Is– If the Resurrection did not take place, then

Christianity is a false religion – If it did take place, then Christ is God and the

Christian faith is absolute truth

The Greatest Victory in History!– There have been many victories in God’s

dealings with men– But the GREATEST triumph of them all was the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! – Jesus conquered the three greatest enemies of

mankind: SIN, SATAN and DEATH– Jesus Christ won the victory by His

resurrection!

Man’s Greatest EnemyMan’s Greatest Enemy

Death Hebrews 2:14-1514 Inasmuch then as the children

have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage

Death - Man’s Greatest Death - Man’s Greatest EnemyEnemy

Death has conquered all men but Christ– No matter how brilliant or rich or strong

• No man is wise enough to outwit death • No man is wealthy enough to purchase

freedom from death • No man is strong enough to vanquish death

– The grave always wins and man returns to the dust

The triumph of death applies to all things

– Animals die and plants die– Cities and nations are born and grow and

then fade away– Homes and automobiles and clothes wear

out and eventually go back to the dust– The universe itself is running down and

heading toward an ultimate “energy death”

The Bondage of The Bondage of CorruptionCorruption

Romans 8:2121 because the creation itself also will be

delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

– A universal law in science• No known exception ever observed• Every system tends to become disordered,

to run down and eventually die

– The Law of Increasing Entropy • Entropy, a measure of disorder, always

tends to increase

The Uniqueness of The Uniqueness of ChristChrist

All other men have died– Buddha, Mohammed, Zoroaster,

Confucius, Caesar, Marx

But Jesus Christ is alive! – It is true that He died and was

buried, but unlike other men He resurrected His own dead body

– He emerged from the tomb, alive forevermore!

– The greatest of all miracles– Proves that Jesus is indeed God, just

as He had claimed to be

Man’s Only Hope for Man’s Only Hope for VictoryVictory

Victory Over Sin– From the garden of Eden, man

has been engaged in a battle against sin

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned.”

Victory Over SinVictory Over Sin

Romans 7:15, 18-19, 24 - “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do....For I know that in me (that is, in my sinful nature) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice....O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” – The answer to Paul’s question: Jesus Christ has

triumphed over sin by His resurrection! He and He alone can deliver us!

v. 25 “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Victory Over SinVictory Over Sin

By His death on the cross and His resurrection, Christ provided a way that our sin can be removed and God can declare us perfectly righteous in Him

Romans 4:25 “who was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised for our justification”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”

Victory Over SinVictory Over Sin

It is the power of the resurrection that gives us DAILY victory over sinPhilippians 3:10 “that I may know Him

and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death”

Ephesians 1:19-20 “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”

Victory Over SatanVictory Over Satan Satan – 5000 years trying to destroy God’s plan

of salvation! – He caused CAIN to kill righteous Abel - but God

gave Seth!– He caused ABRAHAM in unbelief to bear Ishmael -

but God miraculously gave Isaac– He caused JOSEPH’s BROTHERS to sell him as a

slave to Egypt - but God saved his whole family through Joseph’s faithfulness!

– He caused DAVID to sin a sin worthy of death - but God gave him a repentant heart

– He caused HEROD to kill all the babies two years old and under - but God directed Joseph to take baby Jesus to Egypt

– He caused Judas to betray Christ, leading to the crucifixion of Jesus

• There was the triumph Satan had waited for!• 5000 years of diabolical planning had paid off!• For three days Satan and his demons had a victory

party!

Victory Over SatanVictory Over Satan

But early on the third morning, Christ rose from the dead, and Satan was defeated! 1 Peter 3:21b-22 “...through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers have been made subject to Him”

1 John 3:8b “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”

Victory Over SatanVictory Over Satan

Satan is a defeated enemy - he cannot have control over us, as long as we are controlled by the living Christ! Colossians 2:14-15 “having wiped out

the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it”

1 John 4:4 “Greater is He that is in you [the living Christ] than he that is in the world [Satan]”

Victory Over DeathVictory Over Death

Followers of Jesus Christ have no need to fear physical death

John 11:25-26 ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”

Victory Over DeathVictory Over Death

Because of the resurrection, physical death to us is simply an entrance into the presence of the Lord! 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes,

well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord”

Philippians 1:21,23 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain....For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better”

Victory Over DeathVictory Over Death

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”

What If?What If?

If all this is somehow a delusion and if Jesus of Nazareth did not really rise from the dead, then He is no different from other great men who are also dead

– Worse - either a charlatan or a madman

– Jesus staked His claims to absolute deity on His promise to return from the dead

What If?What If?

But, if the Resurrection is really a fact of history, then not only are His claims true, but so are His promises!

1 Peter 1:3 He has “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”

1 Corinthians 15:20, 22 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, ... so also in Christ shall all be made alive”

What If?What If?

Dead in our sins, we have only one hope for new life

– Trusting in Jesus Christ and relying on His death and resurrection for our salvation

John 14:6 Jesus Christ, the Messiah is “the way, and the truth, and the life”

John 11:25 “whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live”

What Happens?What Happens?

The moment you commit your life to Him, three things happen

– Your sin is removed

– The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart as your protection against Satan

– You have eternal life! John 5:12 “He that has the Son has life...”

What an Exchange!What an Exchange!

Our sin for Christ’s righteousness!

Our weakness for Christ’s power!

Our death for Christ’s life!