THE DAZZLING BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL

John Samson:

“Just as a jeweler in a store will always use a black velvet background to display the splendor of an exquisite diamond, so the intricate, dazzling beauty of the gospel is only fully seen when we understand what the Bible says about man’s radical condition outside of Christ. Its a bleak and dark picture to be sure. Yet only when we understand the immensity of the problem can we find the right solution – and see the futility of all other man made remedies. We need far more than a moral pep talk; more than some medical first aid for our gaping wounds; and even more than even an oxygen mask to help us breathe more easily. What we need is a miracle! What we need is a resurrection!”

WE NEED A MIRACLE!

John Samson:

“Just as a jeweler in a store will always use a black velvet background to display the splendor of an exquisite diamond, so the intricate, dazzling beauty of the gospel is only fully seen when we understand what the Bible says about man’s radical condition outside of Christ. It’s a bleak and dark picture to be sure. Yet only when we understand the immensity of the problem can we find the right solution – and see the futility of all other man made remedies. We need far more than a moral pep talk; more than some medical first aid for our gaping wounds; and even more than even an oxygen mask to help us breathe more easily. What we need is a miracle! What we need is a resurrection!” 

The Resurrection

J. C. Ryle:

The fact of our Lord’s resurrection rests on evidence which no infidel can ever explain away. It is confirmed by testimony of every kind, sort, and description. The plain unvarnished story which the Gospel writers tell about it, is one that cannot be overthrown. The more the account they give is examined, the more inexplicable will the event appear, unless we accept it as true. If we choose to deny the truth of their account we may deny everything in the world. It is not so certain that Julius Caesar once lived, as it is that Christ rose again.

Let us cling firmly to the resurrection of Christ, as one of the pillars of the Gospel. It ought to produce in our minds a settled conviction of the truth of Christianity. Our faith does not depend merely on a set of texts and doctrines. It is founded on a mighty historical fact which the skeptic has never been able to overturn. It ought to assure us of the certainty of the resurrection of our own bodies after death. If our Master has risen from the grave, we need not doubt that His disciples shall rise again at the last day.

Christ Died and Rose Again

Charles H. Spurgeon:

“The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is one of the best attested facts on record. There were so many witnesses to behold it, that if we do in the least degree receive the credibility of men’s testimonies, we cannot and we dare not doubt that Jesus rose from the dead. It is all very easy for infidels to say that these persons were deceived, but it is equally foolish, for these persons could not every one of them have been so positively deceived as to say that they had seen this man, whom they knew to have been dead, afterwards alive; they could not all, surely, have agreed together to help on this imposture: if they did, it is the most marvelous thing we have on record, that not one of them ever broke faith with the others, but that the whole mass of them remained firm. We believe it to be quite impossible that so many rogues should have agreed forever. They were men who had nothing to gain by it; they subjected themselves to persecution by affirming the very fact; they were ready to die for it, and did die for it. Five hundred or a thousand persons who had seen him at different times, declared that they did see him, and that he rose from the dead; the fact of his death having been attested beforehand. How, then, dare any man say that the Christian religion is not true, when we know for a certainty that Christ died and rose again from the dead? And knowing that, who shall deny the divinity of the Savior? Who shall say that he is not mighty to save? Our faith hath a solid basis, for it hath all these witnesses on which to rest, and the more sure witness of the Holy Spirit witnessing in our hearts.” (Spurgeon’s Sermons: Volume 2)

Be Not Afraid!

The following excerpts were preached by Andrew Eckert in his sermon simply titled – “An Easter Sermon”:

Luke 24:1-11

Today we enter a new universe! The old passes away as we step out of the tomb of our old life and into the bright dawning of a new creation . . . !

In the old creation, the inevitable end of all things is death. We mortal creatures can only hold onto life for so long. It is our own fault. We were created for immortality, but we all chose the path of disobedience, corruption, and death.

The women approached the tomb of Jesus with spices in their hands, spices for a dead body, to keep away the stench of decay. They were following the rules of the old creation, rules of decay and death.

What they did not realize was that the rules had changed. That very morning, Jesus Christ had altered and reversed the order of the universe. Instead of life leading to death, now death worked backwards into life. The corpse, the dead body of Jesus in the Tomb, suddenly and miraculously breathed again. The heart beat, the blood flowed in His veins, warmth returned to Him, He opened His eyes, and He stood on His feet, not conquered by death, but the Conqueror of death. . . .

The rules have changed.

The women soon found out, because not only is the body of Christ not where it should be, but there are also angels proclaiming, “He is not here! He is risen!”

Now, for those of us in the new creation through faith in Christ, this is the rule: Everything revolves around Life. Dead bodies do not remain where they are left, because, soon enough, they will walk forth from their graves . . . You are not marching toward the grave, but instead are traveling inevitably toward the consummation of immortality. You already have the eternal life of the Son of God inside you. Some of us will never enter the grave at all, not even for a brief visit, because soon enough Christ will return on the clouds of glory. Those believers who are left will be caught up with Him in the sky. Then death will be completely destroyed, and immortality will rule. . . .

When the poor women were confronted by the raw reality of the new, life-filled universe crashing and colliding into the old world, those women became bewildered. Where is the Body? Has someone taken it away? Even the sight of two angels is no comfort, but only makes them more perplexed and frightened. All this is because they have forgotten that Jesus Himself promised that He would rise on the third day.

Even the disciples, when they were told the news, could not understand. To them, the women seemed delirious, telling fanciful stories. . . .

When death and decay attack us, how easily we forget that we are citizens of a different world, a new creation with new rules. This present life with its troubles is only a light, momentary sorrow before the beginning of everlasting joy and glory. Even death has no sting for us. The grave is empty. It is hollow because Christ has removed its strength. . . .

Our sinful flesh still lives in the old world of defeat, always trying but failing. Yet we have also received a new nature in the new birth . . . and in the Word of the living Christ. This new nature has already won the victory with Jesus Christ, since God declares His victory ours. Although we also are the sinful men who crucified Jesus of Nazareth with our sins, now we are justified, that is, we are judged innocent of any crime whatsoever.

In the eyes of God, we shine brightly like lightning, like the angels, because we are covered by the image of the Son of God. We are clothed in His righteousness, covered with His holiness. We shine before God like the dawning of the new creation.

Therefore, let us not act as if we are still in the old world of death. . . . Although griefs shall surely assail us in this lifetime, yet they are only brief pangs before the unbroken joy of Paradise. For we cannot be defeated by any power in this world, not Satan nor death nor hell, since Christ is our Champion, who has crushed all our enemies under His feet.

So let us not be confused or afraid, as the women were, because they could not find the Body of Christ. We know where His Body is. It is among His people, upon the Altar of His House, as He gives it for the forgiveness of sins.

Yet His Body is hidden, not visible to fleshly eyes. For this is not the time for us to see Christ openly. But we shall see Him face to face at the Resurrection of all flesh, when the new heaven and new earth break forth in majesty and perfection.

The Spirit of God preserve you in His Church until that Day. Amen. (St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Wellston, Oklahoma – Sunday, April 24, 2011)