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[0:00] We shall now turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24. Luke's Gospel, chapter 24. You could read again verse 5.

[0:11] And as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth, the angel said unto them, to the women, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.

[0:31] Amen.

[1:01] I feel that this emphasis is missing from sermons today. I feel it's missing from my own sermons and missing from the sermons of others too.

[1:16] We must rediscover the joy of the disciples on realising that Jesus has risen. The wonder of it. The way this resurrection of Christ makes the whole Gospel credible.

[1:36] Yes, and indeed crowns the Gospel as it were. It was the crowning act of our Saviour's atonement for us.

[1:49] He not only died for our sins, but he rose again. And as we discover that Jesus has risen, and as we live in the light of this wonderful truth, it will inspire us to new diligence in serving him, and to new zeal for him, and fearlessness in witnessing on his side.

[2:18] At the end of chapter 23, we read that the women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee stood there at the cross watching and witnessing what was happening.

[2:38] These women really loved Jesus.

[3:08] Buried Jesus, or placed his body in the sepulchre. And verse 55, having seen where the sepulchre was, they returned to Jerusalem.

[3:23] And there they used the rest of the Friday, the preparation day, to prepare spices and aromatic oils with which to anoint the body of Jesus.

[3:43] And then we're told they rested on the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. Although it was a time of distress, a time of difficulty and trial, yet the women rested on the Sabbath day.

[4:06] And Luke very significantly adds, according to the commandment. Some people think the Sabbath doesn't need to be observed today, that it's an Old Testament thing.

[4:19] But Luke stresses that the Sabbath was a commandment of God. And if you love me, you keep my commandments. And these women, they weren't making excuses.

[4:32] It's very easy for us sometimes to make excuses, and to say that such and such is a work of necessity and mercy. That we have to go on such and such a journey, or we have to do such and such a thing on the Lord's day.

[4:47] When it's not really a necessity. These women are commended because they rested on the Sabbath day, according to the scriptures.

[5:00] They could have said, his body will deteriorate. We must go now, before the body starts to decay. We must go with these spices and anoint his body.

[5:12] But no, they rested till the Sabbath day was over. Let us follow their example. Let us seek more and more to keep the Sabbath day holy.

[5:24] A day of rest. A day to be used, not for our pleasure, not for our entertainment, not for our enjoyment, not for our travelling, but a day to be used for worshipping God, meditating upon him, praying to him, thinking about his word, talking about the things of God, coming to his house to join in worship, and stirring one another up to further service to him.

[5:56] Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. A holy day for the Lord. Very early on the first day of the week, just as dawn was breaking, perhaps even before dawn they left their homes and set out for the sepulcher.

[6:24] But when they arrived at the tomb, they found that it was empty. That leads us to our first point today.

[6:41] Jesus is truly risen. He has risen from the dead. The evidence is set down for us in the four Gospels.

[6:56] Jesus is risen. The tomb was empty. Well, you say, so what? If the tomb was empty, well, where was his body?

[7:11] If it wasn't in the tomb, where was it? Would the Jews have taken it out of the tomb? Certainly not. They were doing everything in their power to keep it in the tomb.

[7:24] They had sealed the stone that was rolled up to the door of the sepulcher. They had set a guard, a watch, soldiers, to make sure that the body was kept there till after the third day.

[7:46] And if the Jews had taken the body, they would have produced it at a later stage in order to destroy the Christian church which was built upon the resurrection. If they had the body, they wouldn't keep it hidden.

[8:00] Could the Romans have taken it? Surely they couldn't because it was their soldiers who were guarding the tomb. And it was the seal of Caesar that was placed upon the tomb.

[8:14] Who dare open this tomb? Who dare break the seal? The seal of Caesar that was placed upon that stone rolled up against the door of the sepulcher.

[8:27] The Romans wouldn't take it. It made their guard look foolish. Could robbers have broken in and taken his body?

[8:39] Bandits? If it was robbers, they would certainly have taken with them the clothes. Indeed, that was the only thing of value in the tomb. The long length of linen that wrapped the body, but the linen clothes were left there in the tomb.

[9:02] Could it be the disciples who had taken the body? If the disciples had taken the body, would they be prepared to suffer for a lie?

[9:17] Would they be prepared to die as martyrs for a deception? Would they, who had previous to this been so nervous, so frightened, would they now be so bold as to come to the tomb guarded by Roman soldiers and break into it and take away the body of Jesus?

[9:46] and would they have the boldness to preach to the crowds on the day of Pentecost that Jesus is risen when they knew that he wasn't risen?

[9:58] Would they suffer and die for a lie? The empty tomb can only be explained by Jesus having risen.

[10:11] The interesting thing is, too, that the disciples didn't expect Jesus to rise. Oh, yes, the scribes and the Pharisees could remember what Jesus had said, and they, breaking the Sabbath day, you notice how they went to see Pilate on the Sabbath day, breaking the Sabbath, which on other occasions they were so particular to keep, and which they condemned Jesus for breaking.

[10:42] these Pharisees, they remembered that Jesus had said that he would rise on the third day, but the disciples didn't.

[10:56] We read of the women when they found the tomb empty being perplexed. They couldn't understand. And when they came home and told the disciples that they had met Jesus, that Jesus was risen, the disciples thought that it was just idle tales, women carried away by their imagination, empty stories.

[11:27] the disciples didn't expect it, and yet it happened. These frightened, discouraged disciples were transformed into great preachers and martyrs.

[11:47] How? Only by the risen Lord. how did the church grow so remarkably and spread throughout the world, not with the power of the sword, but with the power of the risen Lord.

[12:03] The tomb was empty, Jesus was risen, but then also we have proof that Jesus was risen from the large number of witnesses that saw the risen Christ.

[12:16] the women saw him. The two on the road to Emmaus saw him. The disciples saw him on several occasions.

[12:31] And on one occasion five hundred brethren were together when Jesus came and revealed himself to them. There were many witnesses. Jesus is risen.

[12:45] And indeed, surely this is what the Christians of today and the true church of God today are doing. Are we not witnesses of the resurrection?

[12:57] We bear witness to the fact that Jesus is risen. For we have met with Jesus. We have experienced Jesus. We know that Jesus is there. He is our Lord.

[13:08] He is our Savior. We have seen him with the eye of faith. We have experienced him in our own hearts and lives. And we are witnesses that Jesus is risen.

[13:23] Jesus is truly risen. Secondly, Jesus is truly the Son of God. He is declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead.

[13:43] God raised him from the dead saying, this is my son. This is my son. Today I have my only begotten son.

[13:54] Today I have begotten him. My son. My eternal son. risen from the dead by the Lord declaring him to be truly his own son.

[14:14] The prophets had prophesied that Jesus would rise. You remember how Isaiah in chapter 53 said, he shall prolong his days.

[14:25] How shall he prolong his days? He who was cut off in his youth, he who died in his early thirties, how would he prolong his days?

[14:36] The only way was by rising again. Isaiah said also, he shall see his seed. How shall he see his seed? He died childless by rising again and seeing all the children who would be born to him by the Holy Spirit, born again of the Spirit of God.

[14:56] He shall see his seed. David too in the psalm we were singing, Psalm 16 said, thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

[15:10] Thou wilt not suffer the Holy One to rot in the grave. His body shall not perish there. David was foretelling how Jesus would rise again.

[15:27] And then there are the words of Jesus himself. How often he had told his disciples that he would suffer, he would be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and he would be beaten and spat upon and crucified.

[15:50] And the third day he would rise again. It was Jesus' own words to them, telling that he was going to suffer and die, but that the third day he would rise again.

[16:02] When the crowds asked of him a sign, he said, no sign shall be given you but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth.

[16:22] And then he'd rise again. The sign, the great sign, the great evidence that Jesus is the Son of Man and the Son of God, that he is the Messiah, that he is the sent one, that he is the one who alone can redeem his people.

[16:40] The sign of the prophet Jonas, buried in the belly of the earth, three days and rising again. Jesus is risen and Jesus is risen tells us that Jesus is Lord.

[16:54] Jesus is the Son of God. Destroy this temple, he said on another occasion and in three days I will build it again. He was speaking of the temple of his body.

[17:07] Destroy this temple. The Jews thought he was speaking because of their lack of understanding they thought he was speaking about the other temple. destroy this temple and in three days I will build it again.

[17:23] There was a close link of course between the two temples and that sense by destroying the temple of Jesus body the Jews were destroying the other temple too because once Jesus had died there was no significance in the other temple.

[17:42] Its place was gone. The veil of the temple was rent entwined from the top to the bottom. It was no longer a place where God was hiding as it were in the holy of holies.

[17:55] God was now revealing himself openly to his people and could be met and worshipped in any place in any part of the earth not just in Jerusalem.

[18:06] Destroy this temple and in three days I will build another a spiritual temple. I will rise from the dead and I will build the body of Christ the church of Christ the temple of the Holy Ghost throughout the world.

[18:24] Jesus is truly the Son of God. His word is truth. It can be believed. He proved it by doing something something wonderful something that had never been done before.

[18:42] He died and he rose again and he rose no more to die. He rose with a resurrection body something that nobody else had done.

[18:55] Whom you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain whom hath God raised. Whom you have taken and rejected crucified and slew him God raised him.

[19:12] He is risen. God showed how different his verdict was upon Christ from yours. You condemned him.

[19:23] You slew him. God raised him. Jesus is truly the Son of God and his resurrection presents him as such and I would seek to present him as such to you today Jesus is Lord.

[19:40] Believe in him. He is the Messiah. He is the sent one. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the Savior of mankind. He is the one who has risen victorious breaking the grave open overcoming death ascending up to heaven.

[20:01] Jesus is Lord. Worship him. Bow before him. Acknowledge him as your Savior. One day he will come again.

[20:15] He will come in power and great glory. Now is the time to bow before him. Not in the day when he will confront you with your unbelief.

[20:28] Whom you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, God raised. Whose side are you on today? Those who are still crucified him, still rejecting him, are on the side of God recognizing him.

[20:47] Recognizing him as God's son, bowing before him. Thirdly, the resurrection shows to us that the work of atonement is completed.

[21:08] Jesus died for our sins. On the cross he said, it is finished.

[21:21] He shouted, Tedelestai, it is finished, it is completed, the work is done, what I have set out to do, I have done, what the father demanded of me, I have done.

[21:37] I've come into this world, I've taken the sins of mankind upon myself, I have gone through hell for them, it is done, it's completed.

[21:51] Into thine hands I commend my spirit, and God raising him from the dead on the third day, showed that God had accepted the work that he had done.

[22:07] God didn't leave him in the grave, if he had been left in the grave we would have no assurance or certainty that the full price had been paid for our sins, but because God raised him, there we have our assurance that salvation has indeed been accomplished, the work has been completed, the sacrifice is accepted, the full ransom price is paid, not one penny short, and therefore we are justified by his resurrection, justified by his resurrection, we have justification, assurance that our sins are forgiven, from the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, he died for our sins, and rose again for our justification, the price is paid, the work completed, assurance of forgiveness is ours, to all who trust in him, is the message today,

[23:28] Jesus is risen, he has died and he is risen, he has offered himself and he is risen, he has completed the atonement, all things are now ready, everything has been done that is necessary, if you believe in Jesus then, all your sins are pardoned, you are on a right standing with God, being justified by faith, you have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, everything is done, everything is completed, that was required, that's a great encouragement to the Christian, but it's also a gospel, gospel, for those who are not Christians, all things are now ready, all that is required has been done, the law's demands have been satisfied, look unto

[24:39] Jesus and be saved, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, take the risen Savior into your heart and life, he has completed the work, it's done, it's finished, believe in him and be saved, but also the fact that he has risen assures us that we shall rise too, he rose as the first fruits from the dead, we shall rise as the full harvest, just as he could not be held by death, having satisfied the requirements of the law, so too death will not be able to hold us who believe in Jesus, we too shall rise, triumphant over death, because Jesus has satisfied all the demands of the law that was against us, and what comfort that is as we stand at the graveside, as we leave our loved ones in the earth, what comfort it is to know that that's not the end, the atheists of this world, and the humanists, and the materialists of this world would say that's the end, snuffed out like a candle, but it's not the end, the body lies resting in the grave until the resurrection, and one day these bodies shall arise, victorious through Christ, just as he broke out of the grave, so they too will break out, and enter into the glory of the eternal reward, the blessedness of paradise above.

[26:48] Jesus is risen, and we shall rise too. Jesus is alive, our savior lives, he's not a dead savior, he's not some great person, who lived a good life, and left us an example, and then perished, he is risen, he's alive, he's a prince, and a savior, he's mighty to save, he's worth trusting in, what comfort that is for the church, as Jesus, the risen Jesus, says, all authority, all power in heaven and earth is given unto me, it belongs to me, because I have died, and I have risen again, all power in heaven and earth is mine, go ye therefore, make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe whatsoever things I have commanded you, and lo,

[28:00] I am with you always, even unto the end of the age, I am with you, I the risen Lord, I the one who conquered death, I the one who of all power in heaven and earth, Jesus is risen, and he's on our side, what an encouragement to us in dark days, what an encouragement to us to witness on the Lord's side, what an encouragement to us to face the future with confidence and boldness, knowing that Jesus is indeed risen, knowing that Jesus reigns and will reign till his enemies be made his footstool, the kingdom of Christ shall prosper, what an encouragement it is to us on an individual level, to know in our own hearts and lives that our Saviour is alive, remember how John puts it in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 2, verses 1 and 2, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the

[29:12] Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, we have an advocate, Jesus rose, he ascended up to heaven, he is there making continual intercession for us, he is an advocate, pleading our case, the risen Lord is on our side, and he is our priest, interceding for us, we pray to him, we pray through him to the Father, we pray for his sake, we put our faith in him, in the propitiation that he made in the sacrifice, and we put our faith in his continual intercession, his ongoing work as the advocate, and we know that our sins are forgiven, Jesus is risen, Jesus is on our side, all the powers of heaven and earth, are on our side, working for us, and we shall never perish, what a wonderful saviour we have, oh that we would look to him, more and more, putting our faith in him, filled with the joy of his salvation, facing the future, with boldness, with confidence, with assurance, facing every testing and trying time, knowing that

[30:44] Jesus is risen, and Jesus is with us, lo, I am with you until the end of the age, let us pray, help us, oh Lord, to put our faith in Christ, help us to discover fresh, the one who has risen, who is risen, who is at God's right hand, help us, oh Lord, to be filled with joyous amazement and faith, as we think of Jesus, and the great work he has accomplished, as we think of him today, in his body, in heaven, and as we think of that day when he will come again, just as he disappeared the first day from the view of his disciples, so he will come again, in all his glory, and his holy angels with him, in order to take his people forever to be with himself, help us to look to Jesus, and through him, to have the victory,

[32:06]  Amen.