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John 11: 25~26
Jesus said unto her,
I Am the
Resurrection, and
the Life: he that
believeth in me,
though he were dead,
yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me
shall never die.
Believest thou this?
I read a story not
too long ago about a
particular family
who was watching the
Easter story on
television.
Although the entire
family had seen the
movie before one
little girl was
particularly moved
by the movie.
As Jesus was
tortured and
crucified tears came
streaming down her
cheek. She remained
completely silent,
with the exception
of a few sobs, until
they put Jesus body
into the tomb.
At that point she
suddenly smiled and
then she shouted,
"Now comes the good
part!"
Now comes the good
part! Amen to
that. "He is
risen-He is risen in
deed." The
disciples had gone
through a time of
despair and seeming
defeat as they
watched Jesus endure
the pain and death
of the cross.
They had watched as
His body was laid in
a tomb, sealed with
a large stone and as
that stone rolled
into place, all
their hopes
disappeared.
But Calvary was not
God’s final word!
On that first Easter
morning the earth
began to shake with
great violence and
the angels appeared
in glorious splendor
with a message to
these women. A
message that they
were to share with
the other disciples
and a message for us
today. That
message is that
Jesus has risen just
as he said. Jesus is
alive!
That truth is what
we celebrate on
Easter, 2000 years
later. That
truth, that Jesus
has indeed risen
from the dead is why
we can gather in
joyous celebration,
with hope and peace
in our hearts.
This proclamation
was the main message
that the early
Apostles preached.
This truth is the
very reason the
church gathers on
Sunday to this very
day. We gather
on Sundays, the day
of the week Jesus
was resurrected, to
remind us that do
not gather to pay
homage to a dead
founder but we
gather to celebrate
the living Lord.
Why all the
celebration, joy and
hope? Yes the
resurrection is a
very exciting an
amazing miracle
because we as we all
know; the dead tend
to stay dead.
But how does this
miracle that
happened some 2000
years ago affect my
life or your life
today? In
other words what is
the significance of
the resurrection of
Jesus? What
does it mean?
What difference does
the resurrection
make?
In order to answer
this question and
truly understand the
significance of the
resurrection of
Jesus you and I need
to understand that
the resurrection was
not only a literal
miracle but also
that it was a sign.
The resurrection is
literally "sign from
God" for all of
those who always
demanded a sign from
God before they
would commit to
obeying Jesus with
their whole heart.
In fact Jesus
himself said they
His resurrection
would be a sign when
He said in Matthew
12: 39-40 "... No
sign will be given
to this generation
except the sign of
the Prophet Jonah.
For as Joan was
three days and three
nights in the belly
of a huge fish, so
the Son of Man will
be three days and
three nights in the
heart of the earth."
Now a sign by very
definition is
something that
imparts information,
gives direction and
indicates a fact or
truth. A sign
always points to or
conveys something.
As a sign, what does
the resurrection of
Jesus point to or
convey to us today?
What difference
should that make it
in our lives?
As a sign the
resurrection of
Jesus showed us many
important things but
I will only deal
with one way the
resurrection was
sign. The
resurrection is a
sign from God of
Jesus
authenticity...in
other words, the
resurrection is
proof that Jesus is
who He said He was.
This is not my
personal opinion
alone rather the
Bible itself says
that the
resurrection served
the purpose of
authenticating or
proving that Jesus
is the Son of God.
Read Romans 1: 1-4
The resurrection
should leave no
doubt in our minds
that all of Jesus
claims are true.
It is nice to have
such a certainty
about such a vital
issue, especially
since so many things
in our world are so
uncertain. The
world, even the
world of science, in
whom so many place
their trust rarely
can say anything
with certainty.
For example…
Illustration:
Harvard Medical
School Has Just
Reversed itself
again.
--- 1950—salt causes
hypertension;
--- 1960—salt does
not cause
hypertension;
--- 1970—salt causes
hypertension;
--- 1980—salt
relieves
hypertension;
--- 1998—the AMA
Journal evaluates
114 separate studies
and concludes that
salt does not affect
hypertension either
way.
The resurrection is
a sign from God of
Jesus authenticity
Jesus made a lot of
exceptional and
important claims
about Himself.
He claimed to be the
one and only divine
Son of God. He
claimed to be the
absolutely only way
to go to Heaven.
He claimed to be the
one and only true
source of life, life
that is fulfilling
and eternal.
He claimed to be
completely without
sin and He claimed
to be the perfect
expression of God
the Father.
Certainly, even a
cursory reading of
the Gospels will
show us that Jesus
claimed to be a
whole lot more than
a "good teacher",
"spiritual leader",
or a "prophet."
Jesus did not claim
to be one of many
ways to God.
Jesus claimed that
He was God and that
He was the only way
to God.
Are all of these
fantastic claims
true? Shall I
believe them?
Or should I listen
to the many other
people who in the
past and still today
made similar claims?
After all many have
claimed that they
are somebody.
Many have claimed
that they have or
can show us the
right way or path to
God. We see
this with Buddhism,
Islam, Hinduism, New
Age religions,
Contemporary
Messiahs and the
many people today
who claimed to have
spoken with angels
or to have received
a message from God.
Many people make
many claims, some
even claiming to be
the Christ.
Who is the real
deal? Who is
genuine and
authentic? Who
are we to believe
in?
An extremely
educated man once
said to a little
girl who believed in
the Lord Jesus: "My
poor little girl,
you don’t know in
whom you believe.
There have been so
many Christ.
In which one of them
do you believe?
And the little girl
replied, “I know
which one I believe
in. I believe
in the Christ who
rose from the dead!"
Clearly the disciple
Thomas understood
what the
resurrection meant
because when he saw
the risen Savior he
fell down on his
knees and said "my
Lord and my God."
Jesus backed up His
claim. We have
a sign from God that
Jesus is the real
deal. This is
important because it
not only affects
what we believe but
will also affect how
we respond to Jesus.
The question of
Jesus identity is
not merely an
academic one because
Jesus did not just
make fantastic
claims but he also
made some serious
demands of our life
based on who He was.
He said that we are
to follow Him with
all of our hearts
and that we are to
be ready to lay
aside everything in
our lives to obey
Him. We are
even to be ready to
give up our own
lives in ...order to
follow Him.
Before I will make
that kind of
commitment or
sacrifice I’ve got
to know that Jesus
is who He says He
is. The
resurrection gives
me that certainty.
Cassie Bernall, when
she gave her life
for Jesus Christ at
Columbine High
School, did not do
so in vain.
She could know and
we can know that she
was obeying the
genuine Son of God.
The resurrection is
a sign from God of
Jesus authenticity
I am so glad that I
can stand before you
and tell you
unequivocally, that
if you are following
Jesus, you are
following the real
deal, the genuine
Son of God, the One
and Only Savior and
Lord. This
means that He must
be able to do what
He said He could do
and that His
promises are all
true! Promises
such as “I am with
you always”,” I will
never leave you or
forsake you” and “I
will return for you
that you may be
where I am!”
Michelangelo once
said to a group of
artists, "Why do you
keep filling
galleries with
endless pictures on
the theme of Christ
in weakness, Christ
on the cross, and
most of all, Christ
hanging dead?
Why do you
concentrate on this
passing episode as
if it were His last
work? That
dreadful scene
lasted only a few
hours, but to the
unending eternity
Christ is alive; He
rules and reigns and
triumphs!"
“He is risen – He is
risen indeed.”
Pastor Larry Sarver
New Life In Christ
Church
Palm City, Florida
and
Sermon Central
http://www.sermoncentral.com/
 
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