Romaine Park Burnie Church Service – 17/04/2022, Ps Nick Booth :- Christ is Risen Luke 24:1-12 & John 20:1-10.
Well Easter weekend is perhaps the most important weekend in the Christian calendar and the Christian Faith. But can I say, that without the Sunday and Jesus Resurrection, then the Friday would only be a sad ending to a great life of Jesus of Nazareth. But we don’t just follow a Crucified Saviour. We follow the Resurrected King who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification.
I posted a hymn that had been on my heart for the last few days. It is a classic written by Charles Wesley and I even posted it on our Facebook page and group. I so love the words of this Hymn. It says it all so well. Allow me to read it to you.
Hymn by Charles Wesley
Christ the Lord is risen today; (Alleluia!)
sons of men and angels say: (Alleluia!)
raise your joys and triumphs high; (Alleluia!)
sing, ye heavens; thou earth, reply: (Alleluia!)
Love’s redeeming work is done, (Alleluia!)
fought the fight, the battle won; (Alleluia!)
vain the stone, the watch, the seal; (Alleluia!)
Christ hath burst the gates of hell: (Alleluia!)
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; (Alleluia!)
Christ hath burst the gates of hell: (Alleluia!)
death in vain forbids his rise; (Alleluia!)
Christ hath opened paradise. (Alleluia!)
Lives again our glorious king; (Alleluia!)
Where, O death, is now thy sting? (Alleluia!)
Once he died our souls to save (Alleluia!)
where’s thy victory, boasting grave? (Alleluia!)
Soar we now where Christ hath led, (Alleluia!)
following our exalted head; (Alleluia!)
made like him, like him we rise; (Alleluia!)
ours the cross, the grave, the skies: (Alleluia!)
King of glory! Soul of bliss! (Alleluia!)
Everlasting life is this, (Alleluia!)
thee to know, thy power to prove, (Alleluia!)
thus to sing, and thus to love: (Alleluia!)
Hail the Lord of earth and heaven! (Alleluia!)
Praise to thee by both be given: (Alleluia!)
thee we greet triumphant now, (Alleluia!)
hail, the resurrection thou! (Alleluia!)
Jesus’ victory over Sin and over Satan on the Cross is revealed to be all greater still because of Resurrection Sunday… What could have seemed like a defeat becomes a tremendous victory over our greatest enemies, Death as well as dealing with Sin, Satan, Suffering and sickness. Jesus’ resurrection comes with the promise that we too shall rise with Him to spend all of eternity with Him.
Today I would actually love us to have a look at a couple of passages from Luke 24: 1 – 12 and John 20: 1 – 10.
Luke 24: 1 – 12
24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
John 20: 1 -10
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
I am convinced that the cross without the resurrection would be incomplete and insufficient. But I think that if we were to ask most of us, (if not all of us myself included), then we would still have to say that we don’t really get it! We don’t really understand why the King of Glory needed to die in our place???
It is possible (and it us ok) to accept that this was God’s plan and still say, this is bigger, greater more costly than I could have ever expected or deserved.
But if we are asking these questions, then let’s take it further… why did Jesus rise?
Many of us may not really know why he had to rise?
And we also don’t get why he left after another 40 days and then ascended to the right hand of the Father?
We don’t get why he has delayed his return for 2 millennia?
There can be a very big difference between knowing a theological truth and having the experience where it makes it so real.
The most important questions, that I must admit, I cannot get my head around is Why or How He could love me so much that God would die for me. Oh, but in each of our cases, I am so glad that he does. I am so glad that his death has purchased my pardon and your pardon! I am so glad that he did not remain dead but that He rose again as the proof of God’s power over Sin, sickness, over separation, and our punishment, over Satan and even over our greatest enemy death!
CHRIST HAS RISEN! – He has really Risen!
I don’t think that we have even really began to scrape the surface when it comes to knowing the depths of what it is that Jesus has done for us. Just last Thursday, a few of us fellas where having breakfast and we reckoned that it would be amazing to hear from the human writers like Paul or Luke or Matthew or John as they explained what they were meaning when they said certain things.
I had highlighted in the readings a few things that I want to point out from the women and the 12 disciples encounter with the Resurrected Jesus that stand out to me.
8 Then they remembered his words.
John 20
9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
One huge outcome of Jesus death, resurrection, ascension and then his glorification is that he sent the Holy Spirit. This changed everything for the disciples and it has changed everything for all new testament believers. He, the Holy Spirit has come to indwell us, to bring us into new covenant relationship and to reveal the truth to us. He has become the seal of our salvation, and promise of our future hope. He empowers us to testify of Christ and confirms the truth of Jesus by convincing and convicting us and others of our need for the Saviour and by confirming his word with signs following.
More urgent than the fact that some of us might not fully understand the message of Christ’s death and resurrection is that there are many people who do not know it at all. Some have never heard it (they can be confused by the noise of our culture and by their busy-ness of life), But there are some others throughout our world have never had the opportunity to hear it!
Let us here the scriptural command in Matthew account of this resurrection meeting with the women at the empty tomb.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
Friend, God’s plan for salvation is bigger than just have our sins forgiven. It is bigger than ‘go to heaven when you die’… it is to bring about the redemption of humanity and not just the saving of individuals. God’s desire is to save our households, our workmates, neighbours and our friends. God intends to transform communities and nations. Yes, God has done it in whole communities before and I believe that He wants do it again. But this can never happen if we remain silent to the message of God’s love and power to save.
Jesus’ death and resurrection, the price that He paid for our salvation deserves nothing less than our full commitment as well as our willingness to share with others about his death and resurrection.
In the western church, we speak mainly about Jesus’ death on the cross. This is vitally important, yet the apostles never failed to preach the cross without Christ’s resurrection in their sermons. They are all true, But Acts shows us that Jesus’ death and resurrection are inextricably linked. We must keep them both permanently and inseparably linked if we are to know Christ properly.
As I speak about knowing Christ, I wonder if some here in church today or maybe some who are watching online might like to pray this morning and ask Christ to be your Lord and saviour. I would love to invite you to pray with me this morning and ask Christ to forgive you for your sins and bring you into relationship with Him.
He is so willing! What about you? What might possibly stop you today? I want to encourage you to pray and submit your life to Christ. Let us pray!
Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me.
I believe that you died on the cross to save me. You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and I give my life to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you.
I love you, Lord, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you.
Amen.
