Sermon series: Intersections at Easter
2. The Kiss of Death - Matt. 26, 27; Luke 24; John 20, 21
3. Resurrection Snapshots - Matt. 28; Luke 24, John 20, 21
4. Risen Indeed - 1 Cor. 15
Scriptures: Matthew 28; Luke 24; John 20, 21
Introduction
One of the greatest assurances of eternal life - or life after death - is anchored in the forty incredible days Jesus spent on the earth after His resurrection. During this dramatic season of heaven on earth in which Jesus made several appearances, we gain invaluable insight into the priorities of following Christ.
Traditional Christianity celebrates the advent of Christ, which is better known as Christmas, and honors the Passion of Christ, which includes the death, burial, and resurrection. We also have an enormous amount of information (teaching, sermons, books, etc) exploring the three amazing years of Jesus public ministry before the crucifixion. But the "Resurrection Ministry" does not receive as much attention as the other seasons of Christ's ministry. Some of the lack of emphasis can be attributed to the fact that this season only lasted forty days instead of three years. But we should be careful not to miss the significance of these forty amazing days. In this message, we will examine several key priorities of Christ-honoring faith as illustrated by the resurrection appearances.
Imagine looking at a photo album containing meaningful pictures of a journey of faith we all need to take.
I. Snapshot 1: The Savior should be celebrated
Matthew 28:9-17 describes an appearance of the Lord Jesus to the disciples, and their response. The Bible states that they "worshiped" Jesus. This marks a significant change in the disciples' recognition of who Jesus was and how to respond to His deity. Prior to the resurrection they followed Christ as a respected leader. The came to understand that He was the son of the living God who possessed the words of life, but the disciples did not worship Jesus.
The apostle Paul declared that the resurrection proved that Jesus was the son of God (Rom. 1:4). The Lord Jesus is co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal with God the Father. The resurrection appearances reveal what is declared by the apostle John in his heavenly vision, where the angels and the elders bow down in worship of the Lamb of God who was slain but now is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power.
As twenty-first century followers of Christ, we take for granted that Christians should worship Christ because we have done so throughout our Christian experience. Some fringes of Christian faith have sought to minimize the worship of Jesus and focus only on "His teaching." But I submit to you that the resurrection appearances should be included in the teaching curriculum of Christ. As the resurrected Savior, Jesus accepted the worship of His followers, revealing the future of Christian faith would be based upon celebrating and exalting Jesus as King of kings and Lord of Lords who is worthy of our worship.
II. Snapshot 2: Soul-winning is our commission
Five times in His resurrected body, Jesus commanded His followers to share the gospel to a world enslaved by the darkness of sin: (1) Matt. 28: 18-20, (2) Mark 16: 15, (3) Luke 24:47, (4) John 21: 17, (5) Acts 1: 8. Do you think this concept was important to Jesus? Of course it was, which is why He repeatedly exhorted His followers to proclaim the gospel.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and He commissioned us to continue His mission. When you consider the limited time Jesus spent on the earth after his resurrection, that Jesus stressed evangelism on several occasions, we gain additional insight to the significance that evangelism should have in an individual Christian's life and in the life of a local church.
III. Snapshot 3: Scripture is crucial
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus encountered two men who thought the ministry of Christ ended on a cruel Roman cross. They did not know that Jesus was alive and walking with them. There are numerous lessons in this story, but consider Jesus' strategy of leading these men to an awareness of His ministry and His presence. The Bible says Jesus taught them "beginning with Moses and the prophets, He explained to them the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). Later, the men described having burning hearts when Jesus "opened the Scriptures" (Luke 24:32).
Think of all the things that Jesus could have done to convince them to recognize and worship Him as the resurrected Savior. He could have performed some healing miracles, walked through a rock canyon wall, or commanded the forces of nature to cry out in praise. Instead, He taught them the word of God.
A parallel story appears in Luke 16. A rich man cries out to God from hell for God to do something miraculous that would convince his brothers to believe. The Bible says, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets they will not be convinced, even if someone rises form the dead" (Luke 16: 31). These two stories reveal how crucial the word of God is to our faith. It is more necessary than miraculous manifestations of glory!
IV. Snapshot 4: Saints need compassion
Two passages, John 20:24-28 and John 21:15-17, reveal the compassion of the Lord Jesus and illustrate our need to extend similar acts of kindness. In the first passage, Jesus makes an appearance to the disciples and speaks directly to Thomas, who had previously declared that he would not believe Jesus was alive unless he placed his own hands in Jesus' wounds. In what must have been a humbling and yet inspiring encounter, Jesus invites Thomas to touch His nail-scarred hands. Thomas responds with an incredible declaration of praise calling Jesus, "my Lord and my God."
In the second passage, Jesus restores Peter with the famous trilogy of questions, "Do you love me, do you love me, do you love me?" The three questions correspond to the three denials of Peter, and illustrate Christ's willingness to forgive and restore. Jesus' final commission for Peter to "Feed My sheep" would become the rugged fisherman's burning passion until his death.
These two encounters show the lengths to which Jesus went to lift up fallen saints. The sad reality in most churches is that we kick the wounded out of fellowship without any hope of being restored to effective ministry. Some may think that kicking the fallen is too harsh a criticism, but they would still not go out of their way to lift someone up.
Those who have fallen, like Thomas and Peter, will not seek the church in their time of need. They will not visit us. They feel like they have let the church and Christ down, so they stay away to avoid any more embarrassment. Many who have fallen see the church as a place where good Christians meet to celebrate and testify how good their walk with Christ is. When will we drop the country-club philosophy where everyone is nicely dressed with paid dues and GO after the fallen like Jesus did?
V. Snapshot 5: Suffering precedes crowns
Part of the instruction Jesus gave the men on the road to Emmaus was reminding them, "The Christ would suffer to enter His glory" (Luke 24: 26). This truth is not just limited to the Messiah. We find other examples in Scripture where God leads His servants through difficulty before placing them in a position of honor. God called Abraham to leave his homeland and sacrifice his son Isaac before becoming the "father of many nations." Moses lived on the backside of the desert before leading the exodus of Israel from Egypt. David lived in a cave to escape Saul's wrath before assuming the throne as king of Israel. In the New Testament we read that God leads us through trials that test our faith to build perseverance, because those who persevere will receive the crown of life (James 1:12).
Conclusion
The resurrection appearances of Christ teach several significant truths that are critical for fulfilling His call on our lives. We need to celebrate the risen Christ in worship. We must embrace our commission to be soul-winners. We need to study the Scriptures because they are crucial to our faith. We should extend compassion to fallen saints.
The last snapshot of suffering preceding crowns is one that inspires us to keep fighting the good fight. As the apostle Paul declared, run the race all the way to the finish line. We may all experience cross-like experiences where pain, sorrow, and brokenness threaten to destroy all we hold dear. But praise God for the promise of resurrection power made available to us through Christ's victory over death. May we pray as the apostle Paul prayed while enduring one of his many trials, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection" (Phil. 3: 10). Allow the five snapshots to open the eyes of your heart to resurrection power.