Jesus Had to Rise
Notes
Transcript
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1 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 whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”
3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb.
4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
6 Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.
7 The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed.
9 For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
PRAY
Introduction: Tell the story of Emmaus road
It was a bright Sunday afternoon, a few miles outside of the city. Two men were taking a Sunday afternoon stroll to the next town. They were having a deep conversation and discussion about everything that was going on in the city.
While they were walking and talking, a Stranger came up from behind them and started walking next to them. The Stranger heard them talking and asked what was going on. As the men turned toward Him, He could tell they were sad.
What’s wrong? What’s going on? He asked.
One of the men sarcastically answered, “Where have you been? Haven’t you heard the news? Everyone’s talking about it.”
“What news?” the Stranger asked. They couldn’t believe He didn’t know.
But they told Him what was going on.
“It’s about the man named Jesus. He was a prophet, giving us God’s messages. He was a powerful preacher and teacher, and He had amazing power to heal people and do amazing things. We had hoped that He was the coming Redeemer that God had promised us, but three days ago our religious leaders condemned him to death, and they put Him on a cross and killed Him. Now we don’t know what to think. We really hoped He was the Messiah.”
“And the weird thing is, this morning some of our friends went to the tomb where they buried Him and His body was gone. These women said they saw some angels who told them that Jesus is alive, but when our other friends went to the tomb, they didn’t see anyone. So we don’t know what’s going on.”
Then the Stranger spoke up.
“How can you guys be so foolish and thick-headed? How can your hearts be so slow to believe the messages God gave you through the prophets? How did you not know that the Messiah had to suffer and die before He is exalted as the King?”
So the Stranger went back to the beginning; He talked about all the different things that Moses said about the Messiah. He talked about the suffering and exaltation of men like Joseph and David. He reminded them of the words of Isaiah regarding the suffering Servant who would bear the people’s sins. Over the next two hours they listened as He went through every part of the Scripture explaining all the different ways that God had shown that the Messiah would suffer.
Their hearts were on fire as He taught them from God’s Word.
When they got to the next town, they asked Him to join them for a meal, and He agreed. As they were sitting at the table, the Stranger took the bread, spoke a blessing, and broke it, and gave it to them.
All of a sudden, He wasn’t a Stranger anymore. They knew exactly who He was.
And then He was gone.
Go through the passage:
1 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.
Comments:
Early on the first day of the week - Christians meet on the first day of the week, Sunday, because of the resurrection of Christ;
while it was still dark - before sunrise, probably between 6:00 and 6:30 AM (sunrise in Jerusalem is at 6:29 AM on Easter this year - but the date of Easter varies);
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. It appears when comparing the Gospel accounts that there were multiple trips to the tomb by multiple people. Here John presents Mary Magdalene coming alone, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention multiple women coming. It seems likely that Mary Magdalene came alone first, then went back and got other women to go back to the empty tomb. Since it was still dark, it seems likely that before going inside the tomb and observing what she reports in v. 2 (His body is gone), she probably went and got other women to go with her.
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”
Comments:
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. The disciple whom Jesus loved is the Apostle John most likely, the eyewitness writing this Gospel. Mary came running from the tomb proclaiming the news
“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!” Mary assumes that Jesus is still dead of course, but someone has moved the body (“they”). Maybe the Romans moved it, or maybe there were some grave robbers who moved His body (not uncommon in that day). Mary is especially distraught, because as we read in Mark’s and Luke’s accounts, she and the other women had brought spices to anoint Jesus’s body. They wanted to honor their Lord, and now his body has been taken away, and they can’t serve Him in the way they had hoped to.
3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
Comments:
Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. Peter and John got on their track shoes and set out on the race to the tomb. John won the race and reached the tomb first, but as we’ll see, Peter wins the prize for going inside first.
5 He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.
Comments:
He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. John looked into the tomb but didn’t go in. What he could see from outside is that the linen burial cloths were still there.
Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. Peter boldly barges right into the tomb and sees the burial cloths lying there, with the implication that Jesus’s body was not there. No one had moved the body. It had moved on its own without moving the cloths. This was not the work of a grave robber.
7 The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.
Comments:
The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths. Unlike Lazarus in John 11 who came out still wearing his grave cloths, Jesus with his resurrection body had passed right through these grave cloths, just as he would later appear out of nowhere in a locked room with his disciples.
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed.
Comments:
Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed. John saw and believed. Seeing and believing will come up again later in this chapter. For now, notice what John saw that made him believe. He saw the abandoned grave clothes. He had not yet seen the resurrected Savior. Up to this point, no one has seen Jesus alive. All they’ve seen is that the stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty except for the grave clothes left behind. But that was enough for John to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, even though he hadn’t seen Jesus yet.
9 For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Comments:
For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. John believed even though he had not yet understood. Later, when he understood better, certainly his faith must have grown even stronger. But what a testimony of faith - you don’t have to understand it all. Just believe what you do understand, and perhaps you will be given greater understanding.
Focus on v. 9
7 Reasons Why Jesus Had to Rise
1. Because it was God’s plan - John 10:17-18.
17 The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
The Father had “charged” or commanded the Son to lay down his life and take it back up again.
The resurrection of Jesus is his obedience to the Father’s will and plan.
Jesus had to rise because it was the Father’s plan.
2. To fulfill the Scriptures -
OT patterns, types, specific statements - Gen. 22. Hebrews 11:17-19. Psalm 16:8-11. Acts 2:31. Psalm 71:20. Isaiah 53:10-11. Jonah 1:17. Matthew 12:39-41. Hosea 6:2. Isaiah 26:19.
Genesis 22 is a beautiful picture foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
An exalted father is called to sacrifice His dearly beloved Son. The son willingly goes to the sacrifice.
As Abraham leaves his servants behind, Genesis tells us
5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”
We will return - though Abraham believed his son would die, he also believed he would live again - rise from the dead.
In this case, the LORD provided a substitute for Isaac - a ram that Abraham took and offered as a sacrifice instead of his son.
At Calvary, Jesus the Son was the substitute in OUR place, dying the death we were supposed to die.
In the Genesis account, Isaac’s resurrection was only figurative, since God provided a substitute to die in his place.
In the case of Jesus, His resurrection was real, because He was the substitute whom God provided to die in our place.
Hebrews makes this connection for us, referring to the figurative death and resurrection of Isaac as a picture of what was to come in Christ.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,
18 even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
The Greek word translated here “in a sense” is related to the word for parable, and it actually means something more like “a model or example pointing beyond itself for later realization, type, figure.” The author of Hebrews appears to be saying that the figurative resurrection of Isaac pointed beyond itself to a reality that was later fulfilled in Christ.
8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
After quoting Psalm 16, Peter says that David was prophesying about the coming Messiah:
31 Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay.
Other Psalms also express confidence in God’s resurrection power:
20 Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.
10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11 After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.
17 Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.
39 Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.
2 After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.
19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
Jesus’s own statements - John 2:19-22. Mark 8:31, 9:31.
Jesus himself had told his disciples and others that He would rise from the dead. At the time, they didn’t understand it, but Jesus had prophesied his own resurrection.
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 “This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
31 Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again.
31 because He was teaching His disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.”
Jesus had to rise because the Scriptures and He Himself had foretold His resurrection.
3. To be our King - 1 Cor 15:24-25. Acts 2:32-36.
He was already King, but His resurrection means He continues to be King.
In the context of defending the resurrection of Christ, Paul starts talking about the reign of Christ. How do these relate?
If Jesus had not risen from the dead, if He is still dead, then He cannot be our King now or ever. But because Jesus did in fact rise from the dead, He is reigning over us as our King now, and He will be King forever.
24 Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
At Pentecost, Peter preached that Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father - sitting down on His heavenly throne as our Lord and King, pouring out His Holy Spirit on all who trust Him.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand 35 until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
Jesus had to rise to serve as our Eternal King.
4. To be our Priest - Psalm 110:4. Hebrews 7:15-16, 24-25.
We are in need of a perfect, eternal priest to fully and finally deliver us from sin. In order to do this, Jesus had to rise.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
To be the priest in the order of Melchizedek, Jesus had to be a priest who lives forever.
15 And this point is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,
16 one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life.
Because of the resurrection, our great High Priest lives forever and is constantly interceding on our behalf.
24 But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
Jesus had to rise to be our Priest
5. To Finally Judge Sin - Acts 17:30-31.
God cannot overlook sin forever. The Judge of all the earth must do what is right. He must justly judge sin. And He has chosen to do this through the God-Man Jesus Christ. And Jesus qualifies as the Judge both because of His dual nature as God and Man, and also because of the resurrection from the dead, as Paul argues in Acts. Paul preaches to the crowd in Athens,
30 Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
Jesus had to rise to serve as the Righteous Judge
6. For our justification - Rom 4:25.
25 He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
The resurrection is an essential part of the gospel message, and it was absolutely necessary along with the death of Christ for us to secure our salvation (justification). If Christ had only died, He would not have completed the work, and we could not be saved.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
If Jesus had died but not risen from the dead, this life would be our only hope - we would have no hope of eternal life with God.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Jesus had to rise so we could be saved.
7. So we could one day rise - 1 Cor 15:20-23. Phil 3:20-21.
Our own hope of resurrection, of one day having bodies that don’t die or wear out or get sick, this hope depends on the resurrection of Jesus.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
Jesus had to rise so we could one day rise.
Because Jesus did in fact rise from the dead, you and I will someday rise from the dead as well.
Application
Believe like John did (you don’t get to see him - yet; but you must trust Him. Believe that He died for you and that He rose again for you.)
Rejoice in your risen Savior
Proclaim the Good News
