It's no joke!

Happy Easter, It is resurrection Sunday and He is risen!

John 20:1–10 NIV

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 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 know it is April Fools Day but this is no joke!

John 20:1-10

According to Wikipedia: In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European towns. In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on April 1. Some writers suggest that April Fools' originated because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.

John 20:1 NIV

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.

1 Corinthians 15

Do we have any all or nothing people here?

image of chip variety pack - all or nothing

My wife would say that I’m an all or nothing guy. Windows up or windows down.

Revelation 3:15 NIV

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

Paul writes in this letter to the church in Corinth. That we as believers must know that with the Lord is all true or none of it is true.

Paul was speaking to some who didn’t believe in any resurrection, let alone the resurrection of Christ. So he throws some “if’s” out there. He wasn’t afraid to talk about Christ’s resurrection and we must not be either.

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Ever wonder why followers of Christ worship on Sunday, the first day of the week?

1 Corinthians 15:12–17 NIV

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then every one of the disciples were liars. A man will die for a lie if he believes that it is true. We see this all through history.

Almost all of the disciples died a martyrs death. If they knew that the Resurrection of Christ was a lie, all they had to do was deny it and it would have saved their lives. Don’t you believe one of them would have backed off if it were a lie.

Thru the Bible Vol. 39: The Gospels (John 11–21) Resurrection of Jesus

The Scofield Reference Bible, page 1043.

Three women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, start for the sepulchre, followed by other women bearing spices. The three find the stone rolled away, and Mary Magdalene goes to tell the disciples (Lk. 23:55–24:9; John 20:1–2). Mary, the mother of James and Joses, draws nearer the tomb and sees the angel of the Lord (Mt. 28:2). She goes back to meet the other women following with the spices. Meanwhile Peter and John, warned by Mary Magdalene, arrive, look in, and go away (John 20:3–10). Mary Magdalene returns weeping, sees the two angels and then Jesus (John 20:11–18), and goes as He bade her to tell the disciples. Mary (mother of James and Joses), meanwhile, has met the women with the spices and, returning with them, they see the two angels (Lk. 24:4–5; Mk. 16:5). They also receive the angelic message, and, going to seek the disciples, are met by Jesus (Mt. 28:8–10).

1 Corinthians 15:32b NIV

32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

If Christ did not rise from the grave then… “just do whatever you want, because NOTHING matters.”

John 20:2 NIV

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!”

Now jump over to and let us take a look at what really did happen.

John 20:1–10 NIV

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 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.

John always refers to himself as the one “whom Jesus loved.” You know that you and I can do this!

The story of the resurrection is in each of the Gospels. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They all give the same story from a different point of view.

John 20:3–6 NIV

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,

Peter being Peter doesn’t wait for anything and goes right in.

Thru the Bible Vol. 39: The Gospels (John 11–21) Resurrection of Jesus

It will be helpful to get in our minds the order of events on this morning of the Resurrection. I quote from a footnote in The Scofield Reference Bible, page 1043.

Three women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, start for the sepulchre, followed by other women bearing spices. The three find the stone rolled away, and Mary Magdalene goes to tell the disciples (Lk. 23:55–24:9; John 20:1–2). Mary, the mother of James and Joses, draws nearer the tomb and sees the angel of the Lord (Mt. 28:2). She goes back to meet the other women following with the spices. Meanwhile Peter and John, warned by Mary Magdalene, arrive, look in, and go away (John 20:3–10). Mary Magdalene returns weeping, sees the two angels and then Jesus (John 20:11–18), and goes as He bade her to tell the disciples. Mary (mother of James and Joses), meanwhile, has met the women with the spices and, returning with them, they see the two angels (Lk. 24:4–5; Mk. 16:5). They also receive the angelic message, and, going to seek the disciples, are met by Jesus (Mt. 28:8–10).

I believe Peter has a bad rep with always jumping and then thinking. I believe when it comes to Christ we should have a little more Peter in us.

This is no joke!

You must make the choice though!

John 20:7–10 NIV

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.

The disciples still don’t fully understand what is going on here.

Bow and pray sinners prayer.

vs. 2 Mary Magdalene believed that someone took the body. She didn’t understand what was going on.

While heads still bowed, ask to raise hands if prayed that for first time. Give out Now What? papers.

They were all about to have a V8 moment!

The religious rulers would have given anything if they would have been able to produce the body.

Now almost all of these disciples that didn’t even understand or believe in the resurrection, all but one died a martyrs death. One they could have easi

1 Corinthians 15:1-

1 Corinthians 15:1–32 NIV

1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 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, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 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 are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 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 turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 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. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. 29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Thru the Bible Vol. 44: The Epistles (1 Corinthians) Program and Pattern of the Resurrection

Paul is saying that if Christ be not raised from the dead, then they are foolish to put their lives in danger. However, since Christ is raised from the dead, believers are identified with Him. As Paul said to the believers at Rome, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3–4). We are joined to a resurrected, living Christ. “Now if Christ was not resurrected, then,” Paul says, “I am foolish to make the sacrifices I have made down here—my life stands in jeopardy every hour. I am constantly in danger of death.”

Thru the Bible Vol. 39: The Gospels (John 11–21) Resurrection of Jesus

The Scofield Reference Bible, page 1043.

Three women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, start for the sepulchre, followed by other women bearing spices. The three find the stone rolled away, and Mary Magdalene goes to tell the disciples (Lk. 23:55–24:9; John 20:1–2). Mary, the mother of James and Joses, draws nearer the tomb and sees the angel of the Lord (Mt. 28:2). She goes back to meet the other women following with the spices. Meanwhile Peter and John, warned by Mary Magdalene, arrive, look in, and go away (John 20:3–10). Mary Magdalene returns weeping, sees the two angels and then Jesus (John 20:11–18), and goes as He bade her to tell the disciples. Mary (mother of James and Joses), meanwhile, has met the women with the spices and, returning with them, they see the two angels (Lk. 24:4–5; Mk. 16:5). They also receive the angelic message, and, going to seek the disciples, are met by Jesus (Mt. 28:8–10).