Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:1-8

The Good News of the Resurrection

Intro.

1. Faith in Jesus’s resurrection rests on solid evidence (Heb. 11:1; Rom. 10:17).

a. Empty tomb, fulfilled prophecy, and eyewitness testimony, Acts 10:38-43 (Acts 1:3; 2:24-31; 1 Cor. 15:4-8).

b. “Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead” (Acts 26:8)?

2. Announced by angels, told by women, and confirmed by the empty tomb and post-death appearances, the good news (euangelion, gospel) of Jesus’s resurrection is the keystone of the gospel, the linchpin of faith and salvation, 1 Cor. 15:14-20.

3. Consider the good news from the resurrection of Jesus.

I. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS MEANS HE IS LORD.

A. It Declared Jesus is the Son of God, Rom. 1:3-4; Ps. 2:7.

1. Lord (kurios): Ruler, Master, Acts 2:32-36.

2. Reigning King at God’s right hand, Ps. 110:1-2 (Matt. 22:41-46).

3. Irony of the sign Pilate put on the cross, John 19:19.

B. Implications because Jesus is Lord (1 Tim. 6:15).

1. His authority is complete and supreme, Matt. 28:18.

a. First century: Kaiser Kyrios (Caesar the Lord) meant ultimate allegiance was due the emperor of Rome.

b. Jesus is Lord: Ultimate allegiance is His, Acts 5:29.

2. Confirms his superior authority over rulers of men, Ps. 2:8-9 (Jno. 19:11); Matt. 28:18.

3. We must respect and submit to his authority over us, Col. 3:17; Matt. 21:25 (Luke 6:46).

II. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS VALIDATES HIS CLAIMS.

A. Without It, He Was Just Another Zealot, Acts 4:35-38.

B. Jesus Consistently Spoke and Acted as Very Person of God.

1. He assumed a divine prerogative (which his enemies viewed as blasphemous pretension), John 10:30-39.

a. Declared men’s sins were forgiven (Mk. 2:5; Lk. 23:43).

b. Claimed he was greater than the Temple (Matt. 12:6).

c. Claimed Lordship over the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8).

d. Claimed authority over the Torah (Law) (Matt. 5:17).

e. Claimed to fulfill OT prophecy (Luke 4:17-21).

f. Insisted his followers love him more than fathers and mothers, more than their lives (Matt. 10:37-39).

2. Since Jesus is deity (“God with us”), we have “a moral imperative to make him unambiguously the center of our lives” (Robert Barron, “Recovering the Strangeness of Easter,” WSJ), John 20:27-31.

III. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS MEANS GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON HUMANITY (US).

A. In Death, Jesus Was the Sacrifice for Sins, 1 John 2:2 (Heb. 2:9).

-Sin has a remedy: The blood (life) of Jesus.

B. At Resurrection, Jesus is Our Victory over Death.

-Jesus fought the battle with death and overcame it, Rev. 1:18.

C. What Jesus Did After His Resurrection Assures Us of God’s Intent for Humanity.

1. Showed his wounds and spoke “peace,” John 20:19-21, 26-27.

a. Wounds: Our sins contributed to the death of the Son of God, Isa. 53:4-6; 1 Pet. 2:24.

b. Peace: God’s love (grace) is greater than sin (Rom. 5:8).

2. We are “saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10) – Fact that he lives.

a. Man killed the Son of God in sinful hatred.

b. Son of God returned with forgiving love to all who will believe on His name (John 1:11-13; 3:16).

c. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…”

Conclusion

1. In the first century, the term “euangelion” was used to signal an imperial victory of the Caesars (Barron).

2. Resurrection of Jesus announces the “good news” (gospel) of the great imperial victory of Jesus over sin, corruption, injustice, and death itself, 1 Cor. 15:19-20, 56-57.

By: Joe R. Price

Posted April 5, 2021