JESUS IS ALIVE

JESUS IS ALIVE

Text -- Matthew 28: 5,6

Supplemental Text -- Matthew 27:57; 28:15

(Mat 28:5 NKJV) But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

(Mat 28:6 NKJV) "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

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(Mat 27:57 NKJV) Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

(Mat 27:58 NKJV) This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.

(Mat 27:59 NKJV) When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

(Mat 27:60 NKJV) and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

(Mat 27:61 NKJV) And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

(Mat 27:62 NKJV) On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate,

(Mat 27:63 NKJV) saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'

(Mat 27:64 NKJV) "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first."

(Mat 27:65 NKJV) Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."

(Mat 27:66 NKJV) So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

(Mat 28:1 NKJV) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

(Mat 28:2 NKJV) And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

(Mat 28:3 NKJV) His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.

(Mat 28:4 NKJV) And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

(Mat 28:5 NKJV) But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

(Mat 28:6 NKJV) "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

(Mat 28:7 NKJV) "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."

(Mat 28:8 NKJV) So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

(Mat 28:9 NKJV) And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.

(Mat 28:10 NKJV) Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

(Mat 28:11 NKJV) Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.

(Mat 28:12 NKJV) When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

(Mat 28:13 NKJV) saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'

(Mat 28:14 NKJV) "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."

(Mat 28:15 NKJV) So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

May I briefly share the story as told in this passage of Scripture. Use your imagination as the scenes unfold.

** The body of Jesus had been placed in the tomb.

** A stone has been placed at the opening to close the tomb.

** The religious leaders plead with Pilot for a guard to be placed at the tomb.

** Guards are sent to seal the tomb and to keep everyone away.

** On Sunday, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to see the tomb.

** An angel sits inside the empty tomb. "You are looking for Jesus?"

** The guards have seen everything that happened.

** The women go to tell the Disciples.

** The guards flee in great fright to report to their superiors.

** The Chief Priests bribe the guards to keep them silent.

From that day to this present time, Satan has tried in vain to silence the witnesses to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

In fact, you are evidence, as a Christian, that Jesus is living. Your life of Christian dedication is proof that the Savior lives and that His message still changes people.

1. The resurrection of Jesus gives meaning to the past. History has no purpose without the reality of Christ.

a. Creation would, at best, be hypothetical. No divine purpose, only mathematical and scientific improbable possibilities.

b. Man’s existence would be mere happenstance; the chance combining of primordial chromosomes.

Scripture.

(John 1:1 NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(John 1:2 NKJV) He was in the beginning with God.

(John 1:3 NKJV) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

(John 1:4 NKJV) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

(John 1:5 NKJV) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

2. The resurrection of Jesus gives power for the present. The present has no survivability, no Spirit, no Spiritual power without Jesus.

a. Life becomes boring, empty and vague without Christ.

b. Man seeks for fulfillment in pleasure and possessions. His flesh drives him like a cruel and heartless tyrant.

Scripture

(Rom 10:9 NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

(Gal 2:20 NKJV) "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

3. The resurrection of Jesus gives hope for the future. The future is foreboding, uncertain and fearful without Christ.

a. Man clings to vain philosophies without Christ.

b. His hopelessness and sense of futility is fertile ground for demonic deceptions. Jim Jones, in Gyana; David Koresh , in Texas; Heaven’s Gate, in San Diego.

Scripture

(Rom 8:11 NKJV) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

(1 Pet 1:3 NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(1 Pet 1:4 NKJV) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Martha, was grieving at the death of her brother, Lazarus.

(John 11:25 NKJV) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

(John 11:26 NKJV) "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

The writer of Hebrews joyously shouts :

(Heb 7:25 NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

The Apostle Paul writes a thrilling scenario:

(1 Th. 4:13 NKJV) But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

(1 Th. 4:14 NKJV) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

(1 Th. 4:15 NKJV) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

(1 Th. 4:16 NKJV) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

(1 Th. 4:17 NKJV) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

(1 Th. 4:18 NKJV) Therefore comfort one another with these words.

In closing, may I remind you to always consider seriously the eyewitness testimonies in the Bible which attest to the truth of Jesus resurrection.

Mary Magdalene and the other women. Mark 16 and Matthew 28.

Two disciples. in Luke 24:15

The eleven disciples. in Luke 24:36

To the ten disciples when Thomas was not with them. in John 20:19

The people at the sea of Galilee in John 27:1

To 500 brethren in 1st. Cor. 15:6.

To eleven disciples in Galilee in Matt. 28:17

And, of course, don’t forget the angel at the empty tomb. And especially don’t forget the soldiers who were sent to guard the tomb and reported back to the High Priest all the things that had happened.

Had He not risen from the dead, all of the early believers would have been so scorned and ridiculed that the church would have died. The great witness, which was given from God to validate the resurrection of His Son, occurred in the book of Acts, 2nd Chapter when the Holy Spirit came with anointing and great power. The early church Christians knew that Jesus was alive and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost proved it.