[Part 15]

(Scripture Reading: Mark 16:1-11)

JESUS OF NAZARETH: HIS RESURRECTION

Intro.

1. "By any measure, the resurrection of Jesus is the most radical of Christian doctrines" (Kenneth L. Woodward, Newsweek, 4/8/96:61).

2. For centuries the accuracy of Biblical record of the bodily resurrection of Jesus has been studied, debated, objected to and believed.

3. Mark 16:4-7 (9, 12, 14): The empty tomb and the appearances of the risen Christ are set forth in the New Testament as the two strands of evidence by which we are persuaded and in which we take comfort (Acts 1:3).

I. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST:

A. Was Foretold by the Old Testament Prophets.

1. Psalm 16:8-11: Fulfilled (Acts 2:25-28; 29-32).

2. Psalm 2:6-7: Fulfilled Acts 13:29-39 (Isa. 55:3; Ps. 16:10).

3. Such a teaching meant the Christ would suffer and die - something unthinkable in the Jewish mind, Acts 17:2-3 (3:18); Matt. 16:21-22.

B. Was Promised by Jesus (Matt. 27:63), John 2:18-22; Matt. 16:21; John 11:25.

C. Declared the Deity of Jesus, Rom. 1:3-4 (John 10:30-36).

-Phil. 2:5-11: Knees bow, not to a dead man, but to the living Christ, our Lord.

D. Defeated Satan, Gen. 3:15; Acts 2:23-24.

1. Heb. 2:14-16: The devil, who had the power of death, was defeated by Christ’s death (and subsequent resurrection).

2. 2 Tim. 1:10: He abolished death (John 11:25-26).

E. Is the Foundation of the Gospel, 1 Cor. 15:3-5.

-Without it, there is no "good news," Luke 24:17-24.

F. Is the Basis of Our Hope of Resurrection, 1 Cor. 15:12-19.

1. "The early Christians claimed that in the Risen Christ, the Glory of Yahweh was made manifest in a new and unexpected way. It revealed the dawn of a ‘new creation’ -- the church -- and a new hope, that ‘in Christ’ everyone could reliably expect his or her own resurrection from the dead." (Ibid, 70)

2. Glorious expectation, 1 Cor. 15:52-57.

II. MONUMENTS TO THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

A. The Lord’s Supper, Matt. 26:26-29.

1. Christ’s promised participation with His disciples in the Supper implies His resurrection; He could not do so without it.

2. We proclaim His death "till he come" (Can only "come" if He is now alive), 1 Cor. 11:26.

B. The First Day of the Week, Acts 20:7.

1. He was raised on the first day of the week, Mark 16:1-2, 9.

2. His exaltation was announced on the first day of the week, Acts 2:32-33, 36.

3. His disciples gather to worship Him on the first day of the week, Acts 20:7.

C. Water Baptism, Rom. 6:1-6.

1. Die to sin, raised to new life, v. 4

2. United with Christ in the likeness of His death and freed from the bondage of sin, v. 5-6.

3. To be baptized expresses a faith that God will raise you from your death in sin by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, Col. 2:12.

4. How is your faith? Will you put it into action and be baptized?

Conclusion

Romans 10:9-10: The belief that saves is in the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead. This belief leads to righteousness when we confess our faith and obey His word.