Hope and Assurance in the Resurrection of Christ
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Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. Now, the first use of that phrase is not a problem. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. It's pretty easy to find Scriptures in the Old Testament that very specifically talk about how the Messiah is going to die for our sins. Isaiah 53, He was pierced for our transgressions. God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. There are several that we can point to, and we can see how the Messiah was prophesied to die for our sins. [00:11:08] (31 seconds)
The same God in flesh who died on the cross is the same God in flesh who was buried is the same God in flesh who was raised. Now, the reason I keep bringing this up, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, some of you may be thinking, why does he keep making this point over and over and over? About the early 1800s, academics began to doubt and to question the bodily resurrection of Christ. They began to say that Christ was just spiritually raised. His body was not in the tomb, but it didn't raise. It was just a spiritual resurrection. [00:05:08] (32 seconds)
If it were just a myth that Christ were raised, Paul even says it in a little bit, then your faith is worthless, and you are still in your sins, and you are most of all people to be pitied because you do not have hope. So the bodily resurrection, this was the early orthodox confession of faith. Christ had died for our sins. He was buried, and that same body was raised from the dead. [00:06:10] (28 seconds)
And then when Thomas did come, doesn't mention that. And doesn't mention the Gospel of John ends with the seven disciples who'd gone to the Sea of Tiberias to go fishing, which is when Jesus appears and eats the fish around the campfire and says, Peter, if you let me feed my sheep. All that to say that the list of resurrection appearances here in 1 Corinthians 15 is not complete, but also the list of resurrection appearances in the Gospels are not complete, which means, think about it, that there may be other resurrection appearances of Jesus to other disciples and apostles that we don't have recorded in Scripture, which makes perfect sense. [00:08:00] (35 seconds)
Because we, Scripture tells us that Jesus is still bodily resurrected. Colossians 2, 9 says in the hymn, the fullness of God dwells bodily, and that's speaking about Jesus now, not on earth. So for this brief period of time, the resurrection appearances for 40 days, just like in the incarnation, God in flesh could be touched and could be seen. For this brief period of 40 days, God in flesh, the resurrected glorified Jesus could be touched, could be seen, could be, you could eat fish with this individual, but it was the glorified resurrected body. [00:10:08] (32 seconds)
Now, the first use of that phrase is not a problem. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. It's pretty easy to find Scriptures in the Old Testament that very specifically talk about how the Messiah is going to die for our sins. Isaiah 53, He was pierced for our transgressions. God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. There are several that we can point to, and we can see how the Messiah was prophesied to die for our sins. The second one, though, is very curious. [00:11:08] (29 seconds)
The second theme, he says, when you look at these 43 occurrences, is that after three days, this is where God dramatically acts, and there is this dramatic reversal of circumstances, often from the potential of death to life. And it happens over and over and over. Genesis 22, Abraham is leading Isaac to the place of sacrifice, going to the place of sacrifice. Isaac is going to die. And there when they get to the place of sacrifice, God provides the ram caught in the thicket and suddenly Isaac, instead of dying, Isaac is going to live and that ram is going to die. [00:19:24] (37 seconds)
So the question is, how can it be then the earliest confession of faith in the early church claimed that Christ was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, plural by the way, when we're not able to identify a single Old Testament Scripture that specifically speaks of the Christ being raised on the third day? It's a very interesting question. So I'm going to geek out on you for just a moment, alright? And I'm going to do it for a reason, because I believe that the majority of you in this room love the Scriptures. [00:14:08] (35 seconds)
And you believe it to be the inspired Word of God, and you believe it to be profitable for correction and teaching, training and righteousness. You believe it to be the living breath of God. You come to it with very high expectations. And when you come to the Scriptures and you have a question like this, you really want to have a deeper understanding of that. And so often what happens is we come to this and say, that's an interesting question, but let's move on. So instead of, but let's move on, let's just slow down and say, what exactly is it that Jesus could be talking about when He says, it is written according to the Scriptures that on the third day… [00:14:34] (33 seconds)
Wouldn't you have loved to have been with the Apostles after the road to Emmaus where Jesus opened their mind and understood all of the Scriptures, how it points to Him? How it goes all the way back to the garden where Eve, the prophecy to Eve was your offspring is going to crush Satan under your heel, but your heel is going to be bruised when he crushes. And just go back to the garden and all through the patriarchs and the law and the tabernacle and the prophets and just connect all of those dots, all the three days, all the resurrections, all the deliverance. [00:25:13] (31 seconds)
God is still a present help in time of trouble. Isn't that why you pray? You don't pray because there's this myth of some things that God used to do way back then, and it makes you feel better in the misery of the moment. You pray because you believe that God is present and active in His creation right now, and He still delivers His people. Just like He did with all those stories that I named, and the resurrection is the culmination of that. [00:26:42] (35 seconds)
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The same God in flesh who died on the cross is the same God in flesh who was buried is the same God in flesh who was raised. Now, the reason I keep bringing this up, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, some of you may be thinking, why does he keep making this point over and over and over? About the early 1800s, academics began to doubt and to question the bodily resurrection of Christ. They began to say that Christ was just spiritually raised. His body was not in the tomb, but it didn't raise. It was just a spiritual resurrection. [00:05:08] (32 seconds)
If it were just a myth that Christ were raised, Paul even says it in a little bit, then your faith is worthless, and you are still in your sins, and you are most of all people to be pitied because you do not have hope. So the bodily resurrection, this was the early orthodox confession of faith. Christ had died for our sins. He was buried, and that same body was raised from the dead. [00:06:10] (28 seconds)
And then when Thomas did come, doesn't mention that. And doesn't mention the Gospel of John ends with the seven disciples who'd gone to the Sea of Tiberias to go fishing, which is when Jesus appears and eats the fish around the campfire and says, Peter, if you let me feed my sheep. All that to say that the list of resurrection appearances here in 1 Corinthians 15 is not complete, but also the list of resurrection appearances in the Gospels are not complete, which means, think about it, that there may be other resurrection appearances of Jesus to other disciples and apostles that we don't have recorded in Scripture, which makes perfect sense. [00:08:00] (35 seconds)
Because we, Scripture tells us that Jesus is still bodily resurrected. Colossians 2, 9 says in the hymn, the fullness of God dwells bodily, and that's speaking about Jesus now, not on earth. So for this brief period of time, the resurrection appearances for 40 days, just like in the incarnation, God in flesh could be touched and could be seen. For this brief period of 40 days, God in flesh, the resurrected glorified Jesus could be touched, could be seen, could be, you could eat fish with this individual, but it was the glorified resurrected body. [00:10:08] (32 seconds)
Now, the first use of that phrase is not a problem. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. It's pretty easy to find Scriptures in the Old Testament that very specifically talk about how the Messiah is going to die for our sins. Isaiah 53, He was pierced for our transgressions. God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. There are several that we can point to, and we can see how the Messiah was prophesied to die for our sins. The second one, though, is very curious. [00:11:08] (29 seconds)
The second theme, he says, when you look at these 43 occurrences, is that after three days, this is where God dramatically acts, and there is this dramatic reversal of circumstances, often from the potential of death to life. And it happens over and over and over. Genesis 22, Abraham is leading Isaac to the place of sacrifice, going to the place of sacrifice. Isaac is going to die. And there when they get to the place of sacrifice, God provides the ram caught in the thicket and suddenly Isaac, instead of dying, Isaac is going to live and that ram is going to die. [00:19:24] (37 seconds)
So the question is, how can it be then the earliest confession of faith in the early church claimed that Christ was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, plural by the way, when we're not able to identify a single Old Testament Scripture that specifically speaks of the Christ being raised on the third day? It's a very interesting question. So I'm going to geek out on you for just a moment, alright? And I'm going to do it for a reason, because I believe that the majority of you in this room love the Scriptures. [00:14:08] (35 seconds)
And you believe it to be the inspired Word of God, and you believe it to be profitable for correction and teaching, training and righteousness. You believe it to be the living breath of God. You come to it with very high expectations. And when you come to the Scriptures and you have a question like this, you really want to have a deeper understanding of that. And so often what happens is we come to this and say, that's an interesting question, but let's move on. So instead of, but let's move on, let's just slow down and say, what exactly is it that Jesus could be talking about when He says, it is written according to the Scriptures that on the third day… [00:14:34] (33 seconds)
Wouldn't you have loved to have been with the Apostles after the road to Emmaus where Jesus opened their mind and understood all of the Scriptures, how it points to Him? How it goes all the way back to the garden where Eve, the prophecy to Eve was your offspring is going to crush Satan under your heel, but your heel is going to be bruised when he crushes. And just go back to the garden and all through the patriarchs and the law and the tabernacle and the prophets and just connect all of those dots, all the three days, all the resurrections, all the deliverance. [00:25:13] (31 seconds)
God is still a present help in time of trouble. Isn't that why you pray? You don't pray because there's this myth of some things that God used to do way back then, and it makes you feel better in the misery of the moment. You pray because you believe that God is present and active in His creation right now, and He still delivers His people. Just like He did with all those stories that I named, and the resurrection is the culmination of that. [00:26:42] (35 seconds)
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