History’s Greatest Solved Mystery
Easter 2021 • Sermon • Submitted
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Handout
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Key Ideas
The real event of Jesus’ resurrection solves history’s greatest mystery.Despite your past experiences with Christians or disappointment in God, the resurrection of Jesus provides a compelling reason to place your faith in Him.There is no better time than Easter to accept Jesus as your Savior.
Scripture References
● Matthew 22:19-21; 5:17-20; 16:13-17; 26:69-75
● John 18:36; 1:29-34; 14:9; 20:1-8; 3:16
● The raising of Lazarus (special emphasis on John 11:25)
50 And they all left Him and fled. 51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.
11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
● Acts 3:15; 2:38
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
Outline
Easter is the perfect time for anyone to become a Christian.
Perhaps you’ve been checking it out, talking to friends and family about what it means. You’ve wondered how to seal the deal or become a Christian.
Maybe you’re here and you have both feet on the brakes. You’ve come because your parents asked you, someone bribed you with breakfast or lunch. Or you’ve been nagged by the kids to be part of the family. You’ve got you arms crossed, not outwardly, but inwardly. You’re done with church because you’ve known a christian, you’ve worked for a Christian, you’re married to a Christian, you went to a Christian school, you’ve had a bad experience in a church, maybe you had a professor in college who pointed out pesky questions no one asked in your church and you think they pulled out that one card that made the whole house of faith fall apart.
I don’t know you personally, but I can tell you that once you know Easter, it presents an end-run around all our questions, complaints, and objections regarding Christians and Christianity.
Easter addresses something for which there’s no other plausible explanation.
Easter addresses something for which there’s no other plausible explanation.
1. The Easter Event is the foundation of our faith.
2. Background: How culture change *usually* happens.
a. Culture change follows a predictable sequence:
unrest,
a rising charismatic leader,
solidification around teaching,
death of the hero,
preservation for the future.
b. Examples of other movements that changed culture.
of culture change that make sense according to this model:The story of Mohommad and the birth of Islam.The Civil Rights Movement & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.The rise & persistence of Christianity does not match the model.The Two Problems with Jesus’ Message.Jesus never advocated any kind of liberation or revolution.He did not come to abolish Roman rule (John 18:36)He did not come to abolish the Jewish law. He elevated it. (Matt. 5:17-20)Jesus’ message was all about Jesus.He never asked His followers to trust His ideas. He instructed His followers to trust in Him. (Illustrations: Lazarus, also John 14:9)Because He was at the center of His teaching, His death killed the movement. When Jesus died, no one believed His message.
“Never once did Jesus, and never once did any of His followers indicate that Jesus came to leave us with a collection of insights, parables, and principles to pass on to the next generation… So, when Jesus died, their hopes died with Him.”
“There were no Christians at the cross.”
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was, by all accounts, a giant of history. Soldier. General. Emperor. Exile. And although no would add ‘theologian’ to this list, Napoleon faced a question common to all mankind: Who is Jesus Christ?
History has seen many different answers. Christians have claimed Him as Savior, others have considered Him just another wise teacher, and skeptics have deemed Him to be a largely mythological figure.
Near the end of his life, the exiled Emperor Napoleon came to the following conclusion about the King of Kings:
I know men, and I tell you Jesus Christ was not a man.
Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist.
There is between Christianity and other religions the distance of infinity.
Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men will die for Him.
Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men will die for Him.
Alexander, Cæsar, Charlemagne and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon sheer force. Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men will die for Him. In every other existence but that of Christ how many imperfections!
From the first day to the last He is the same; majestic and simple; infinitely firm and infinitely gentle. He proposes to our faith a series of mysteries and commands with authority that we should believe them, giving no other reason than those tremendous words, ‘I am God.’
The Bible contains a complete series of acts and of historical men to explain time and eternity, such as no other religion has to offer.
If it is not the true religion, one is very excusable in being deceived; for everything in it is grand and worthy of God.
The more I consider the Gospel, the more I am assured that there is nothing there which is not beyond the march of events and above the human mind. Even the impious themselves have never dared to deny the sublimity of the Gospel, which inspires them with a sort of compulsory veneration.
What happiness that Book procures for those who believe it!
So said Napoleon Bonaparte. What about you? Who do you say that Christ is? Scripture tells us that “every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Even the great Napoleon.
3. Easter solves history’s great mystery.
Proof #1: The women discovered the empty tomb.
Men had wrapped Jesus’ body initially. Women headed there as soon as they could after the Sabbath because they knew guys wouldn’t have gotten it right.
Women were not considered reliable witnesses. The only logical conclusion to draw from their inclusion in the story is that they discovered the empty tomb.
Proof #2: No one was expecting the resurrection.
Messiah’s don’t get defeated. Sons of God don’t die.
the Crucifixion crushed the disciples.
The disciples recorded their cowardice.
11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
The gospel writers portray themselves as cowards.“The people who brought us the story of the resurrection sheepishly, but honestly, admit ‘We thought that when He died, He would stay dead.’”
Proof #3: The early church preached that Jesus had risen from the dead and they had seen Him.
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
I’ve read and listened to skeptics. In fact every Easter there comes out a “new” show on the History Channel or PBS, in search of the historical Jesus or such. I’ve listened to them. You know what even the skeptics say when they look at the history… Well, yeah, the people testified to that. the Hymn Paul quotes in Philippians 2 about Jesus being God and 1 Corinthians were written soon after the resurrection. They don’t doubt that the followers said they saw the resurrection. They just WON’T believe it.
Why? Because they didn’t see it.
but, I want you to consider the huge difference. Jesus’ followers didn’t reengage because of something Jesus taught. Jesus’ followers reengaged because of someone they saw: Jesus. They preached in the very city where He had been crucified.Call to salvation: There is no better time to accept Jesus as your Savior.Jesus’ resurrection solves history’s greatest mystery, but what does that mean?The resurrection of Jesus Christ punctuated the point of His crucifixion: the forgiveness of sin.If you’re a Christian, your hope is not in vain. There is a resurrection and there is eternal life.There is no better time to accept Jesus as your Savior.
“If a man can predict his own death and resurrection and pull it off, I just go with whatever that man says.”