The Third Day

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1 Corinthians 15:3–4 ESV
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Paul tells us that Jesus was buried and rose again on the third day!
That third day is what we celebrate today… however...
I want to put you in the shoes of Christ’s followers and walk through those three days.

THE FIRST DAY | A day that would infuriate us.

This was truly a conspiracy.
Judas sold our Jesus and was bribed by the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin were not supposed to make any arrests if they were going to be the judge in the trial yet they arrested and were the first to try Jesus.
It was illegal to have a secret trail as the one we read about in John.
All could argue in favor of an acquittal but not all could argue in favor of a conviction.
This was a rushed trial. He should have been held until he could have a proper trial.
There were both civil and religious laws that were broken.
THEN… as the day spiraled out of control
It became mob rule.
The trial made it to Pontius Pilot (the Roman governor of Judea) and he wanted nothing to do with it.
By this point the Jews wanted Jesus put to death but only Pilot had that authority.
Pilot wanted nothing to do with condemning an innocent man to death but he also wouldn’t stop it.
He found out Jesus was from Galilee and roped Herod into the mess.
But Jesus would not simply entertain Herod.
Eventually Pilot gave the angry mob a choice.
Jesus or Barabbas the murder.
Surly they would pick Barabbas but they didn’t.
He was found guilty in a sham conspiracy trial.
The spit on Him.
The put thorns on His head
They beat and whipped him
They made him look like a fool

At the end of THE FIRST DAY - all hope is gone.

This Messiah
This man who a week ago had made his triumphal entry
The crowds gathered and cried Hosanna
They laid down their garments for him to ride on
They thought He was going to free the Jews from Roman control
Was dead
Now it was all over
He was hanging on a cross with common criminals
They told Him to come down, and He didn’t
Now He was dead…all hope was gone
The disciples had given their lives to Him
Peter, James, John, Andrew – gave up their business
You say: How was it hopeless? They knew He would rise again…
He had just told them in the upper room what was going to happen.
How often have we gotten caught up in the moment and forgot?
Life just starts getting away from us and it seems hopeless.
Tragedy strikes.
Your world has fallen apart.
Your life has been dismantled.
You wonder if it is worth going on.
Everything they believed in was hanging on that cross.
They had trusted Him with their life, and now He was in a tomb.
In this moment it seem to them that all hope was gone.
Can you imagine pulling yourself away from that scene
Walking away from the cross
For the first time in 3 ½ years the disciples went home without Jesus
As the sun set, they pulled Him down and put Him in a borrowed tomb.

THE SECOND DAY | A day of quiet ,questions, and fear.

the disciples are left to pick up the pieces (it’s the Sabbath)
The streets are quiet
Almost eerily so
The crowds have dispersed
Many have all but forgotten yesterday
His body is in the tomb.
Imagine the emptiness that must have been there
The questions and doubt
He told them this would happen, but
Doubt creeps in
Is He really coming back
The doubt leads to questions.
What were those things He did?
Were they miracles or some fancy trick
Were they foolish to follow Him
Was He who He said He was?
That day must have been the longest the disciples ever faced
The disciples hide because of fear
They thought they might be next
They didn’t know what to do without Him.
What about us? How many times have we let fear take over our lives?
Usually it’s in these times of quietness….
When we are alone
When nothing is happening and we are waiting.
When we want to see God most, but He just doesn’t seem to be there
Lying in your bed at nigh, or riding in your car by yourself
Maybe something terrible has happened, and now in the quietness doubt comes doubt, questions, and fear creep in.
God didn’t exactly come through the way you had hoped.
You start to wonder if following Him is worth it.
Is it worth the fight to keep going.
So the sun sets on another day...
Nothing has happened.
No glimpse of hope.
No sign from God.
NOTHING
The body of the Messiah is laying in a tomb.

THE THIRD DAY | Christ’s body is missing.

The women find the body missing and the stone rolled away.
They were going to put perfumes on His body.
As they walked they were trying to figure out how they were going to get into the tomb.
They find the stone moved, the tomb empty and an angel standing there.
Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Why did you come to a grave to find a living person?
He is ALIVE! He is RISEN!!
They are amazed!
Why are they so amazed?
Jesus did exactly what He said He would do.

Let’s look at these three days through God’s eyes.

When the sham trial found Jesus guilty.
When He was beaten in mocked in front of everyone.
When He died innocently on the cross.
These are all things the DISCIPLES SAW.
They are not what God’s eyes saw.

God didn’t see people conspiring against His Son. God didn’t see a phony trial. God saw His eternal redemptive plan unfolding just as the Sovereign God had written the story before the foundation of the world!

He was doing this for OUR GOOD!!
So let’s get a new perspective. Let’s look through God’s eyes.

THE FIRST DAY | The blood Christ shed through His death paid the debt I owe for my sin.

In Genesis 3 Adam sinned against God. This brought sin into the world.
Romans 5:12 ESV
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
This leads us to...
Psalm 51:5 ESV
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
David is not saying he came from a sinful relationship but that he was a sinner from the moment he was conceived.
Then to make it worse...
Romans 3:23 ESV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
None of us are naturally good.
RC Sproul: “Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once, and He volunteered.”
Hebrews 9:22 ESV
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
There is no forgiveness of sins without blood being shed.
It is not possible for our sin debt to be paid without the shedding of Christ’s blood.

God saw His Son willingly hanging on the cross so that my sin debt could be paid, thus proving how much He loves me!

DAY TWO | We walk by faith and not by sight.

So we keep the faith!
2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
The disciples were at a crossroads.
Would they give up?
Or would they believe that Jesus was who He said He was and keep going?
The second day was a quiet day, but God was still there. God was STILL working!

We can be so feeble-minded that as soon as we don’t see God working or as soon as we can’t understand what He is doing, we lose faith.

Remember, all of this was planned out before the foundation of the world.
All this was for our own good.
Ephesians 1:4 ESV
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
So we need to live Paul’s words to Timothy...
2 Timothy 1:12 ESV
12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
When the situation gets hard.
When it SEEMS like there are no answers.
When we FEEL like God is far away.
When doubt and fear start knocking on the door...
Don’t open it!
KEEP THE FAITH!
Even these moments are part of God’s plan.

THE THIRD DAY | Christ emerges victorious.

UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE
WITH A MIGHTY TRIUMPH O’ER HIS FOES
HE AROSE THE VICTOR FROM A DARK DOMAIN
AND LIVES FOREVER WITH HIS SAINTS TO REIGN
1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ gives victory over death.

What is the thing that the human race fears the most?
Death!
Hebrews 9:27 ESV
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Due to our sin we deserve more than a physical death.
Romans 6:23 ESV
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Yet when we receive Christ we no longer need to fear death.
1 Corinthians 15:55–57 ESV
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ gives victory over sin.

Jesus proved He was who He said He was.
Jesus proved was, as John called Him: The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The resurrection proves that Christ’s sacrifice was accepted by God
Jesus paid the payment for our sin.
“The wages of sin is death”
We can’t pay that debt.
He then gives us the benefits of salvation as a gift.
We need to repent of our sins and believe.
Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Grace is something we don’t deserve.
We are given salvation through our faith but even our faith is a gift!
Romans 6:5–6 ESV
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
We no longer have a hopeless life.
We are no longer a slave to sin.
When we repent and believe we are united with Him in His death, thus we are united with Him in His resurrection!
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
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