The Story Continues

Well, you can be opening your Bibles this morning to the Gospel of Luke.

! We're going to be in chapter 24. Eventually, I'm going to wait just a little bit before I read the text. But open your Bibles to that passage, Luke chapter 24.

That's our text for this special Resurrection Day, Resurrection Sunday. You know, the world, again, the world calls it Easter. But since the origin of that word is a bit dubious, in fact, I believe it's pagan, I think I'd much rather call it Resurrection Sunday.

So again, our text is going to be Luke chapter 24, verses 1 through 12. But before I read the passage, I want us to go back just a little bit, because this is kind of a continuing story, isn't it?

Kind of remind ourselves of what has already taken place. It took place back in chapter 23 that we studied just last week, week before. In verse 46 of the previous chapter, we read these words, He breathed His last.

Kind of a punctuation, really, to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, as laid before us, described for us, detailed for us, in the Gospel of Luke and the other Gospels as well.

Of course, He breathed His last means He died. Hanging upon the cross, that cruel cross, nailed to the cruel, rough, cursed, accursed cross.

And so He died. Died on the cross. And what happened after that? Well, the Bible tells us that Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea, the Bible calls him a good man, a just man, a man who was a member of the Sanhedrin, and yet was not consenting in that council's decision to have Jesus killed.

And so Joseph goes to Pilate, and he gains permission to have the body of Jesus, take the body of Jesus down and give Jesus a proper burial, and Pilate gives him permission.

And we can imagine, I think, the scene, even though it's not, you know, in full, in detail, described for us in the Gospels, but we can imagine there's Joseph, and Nicodemus is also there.

We understand that from another Gospel writer. And the women are there. Pretty clear the disciples are not there.

Perhaps John is there. He was the only one that stuck around. And perhaps others of Jesus' followers were there, and we can just imagine, watch them as they very carefully, very gently, and very mournfully lowered the lifeless body of Jesus from the cross.

And I can imagine that the tears were free-flowing. Jesus is dead. And these people who had been following him, they loved him, adored him.

John tells us in John 19, verse 39, and Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, he was also there, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

That's a lot. I was thinking about that. That's a bunch. And very expensive. And John goes on to say, and they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen, literally wound the linen around the body of Jesus with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

John goes on to tell us, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. A garden, and in the garden, a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

And we look at Matthew's account in Matthew 27 and verse 60. We understand the tomb belonged to Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea. Matthew says his new tomb.

It was his new tomb, which he had hewn or carved out of rock. And so we can easily visualize this very tender scene.

They carried the body of Jesus into the tomb, and they laid him, very gently laid him, on perhaps a stone slab in the center, to the side, or maybe even carved into the wall of the tomb.

And they gently laid his body there. Perhaps they spent a few moments, though time was growing short, because it was the time of preparation for the Passover, and they had to get all that done before that time started.

But perhaps they tarried for just a moment there, and looked down upon the body of Jesus, this Jesus that they dearly loved.

Just, you know, just spending a few moments. Maybe some words were said. I don't know. And then both Matthew and Mark tell us that Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea, rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and then it says, and departed.

So everybody left. Well, that's it then. Right? I mean, that's it. Jesus is dead, buried.

End of story. Of course, you know that's not true. And so we take up the story as it continues in Luke chapter 24, and so follow along as I read the first 12 verses.

Now, on the first day of the week, that would be Sunday. They didn't have names for days in those days, okay? All right. First day of the week, but we know it's Sunday.

Very early in the morning, probably 6 a.m. in the morning, maybe earlier than that. They, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. So the tomb was empty.

That's how they found it. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, the angels said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead? He's not here, but is risen.

Remember, remember, remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again.

And they remembered. His words. Then they returned from the tomb, told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales.

And they did not believe. Peter arose and ran to the tomb and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves and he departed marveling to himself at what had happened.

Have you ever refused to believe that someone you know is really dead?

Have you ever refused just to believe it? I mean, just think back over your life, perhaps there's been an experience like that. Someone near to you, dear to you. Someone famous, someone you know, and this person dies and you have a hard time believing it.

I'm not talking about, you know, some morbid way, you know, or, you know, some kind of thinking that has lost all touch with reality, but have you ever had that experience?

You've just refused to believe it. It's kind of like watching a movie, you know. Watching some movie and the good guy dies in some kind of tragic way or shadowy, vague way.

And so the good guy dies in the movie, you know, and you just can't hardly believe it. You don't want to believe it. In fact, we've kind of been conditioned, you know, with movies that we've seen to doubt that that good guy or good woman or the hero or whatever is really dead.

And so we find ourselves thinking he's not really dead. And, you know, they just want you to believe that he's dead. And eventually, you know, the truth's going to come out.

You know, I hesitated, actually, when I was preparing my sermon, hesitated to even bring up movies because, you know, this is Resurrection Day, what do we want to talk about movies for? I'm trying to kind of convey an idea here.

sometimes we just don't want to believe that a certain person may be in a movie or maybe even in real life.

It does happen in real life as well. And we have a hard time believing it. It's someone that we love, someone we know, and for a while we just almost refuse to believe.

And I wonder if any of Jesus' followers in our story felt that way. You think? I mean, just imagine those especially who were there at the cross and took the body down and the ones who were involved in wrapping the linens around him and applying the spices and then laying his body in the tomb.

Did it ever occur to them along the way that maybe he's not really dead or if he's dead he's going to come alive again? I mean, I've even been to a funeral I can remember in years past and see that dead person in the casket and thinking, I think I saw them move.

It's almost like they could just get up out of the coffin, you know. Did it ever occur to them that maybe Jesus will live again?

And if they did, there's no indication of that from Scripture, is there? I mean, none whatsoever. And, you know, I find that strange. Do you find that strange? That it seemingly never occurred to them.

Scripture seems to indicate that initially, anyway, even the possibility that Jesus would live again never entered their thinking.

and that, as we shall see, is very strange and at the same time, this is interesting, it's a strong proof of the resurrection.

And so with that in mind, let's look at the text and the first thing we see is what I want to call a startling reality. a startling reality.

All four Gospels accounts tell us that the women were the first ones to go to the tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ on that Sunday morning. They were the first ones there.

And again, incredibly, the furthest thing from their minds was that Jesus had been raised from the dead. It didn't even occur to them. Not at all. In fact, look at verse 4.

Look at what verse 4 says about them. They were greatly perplexed. That's how it is translated in the New King James Version. They were greatly perplexed.

That is, they go to the tomb, they find that the stone has been rolled away, and then when they look, they find that the tomb is empty.

Absolutely empty. And they are greatly perplexed. Interesting. In fact, the Greek word is diapareo, and it means literally to be entirely at a loss.

That's a pretty strong word. And the fact that they reacted that way is to me quite amazing. You know, for us, when something happens, something startling happens, and then we suddenly have a few ideas in our minds that might explain what has happened and why it has happened, that's not diapareo.

Because diapareo means that you are completely, totally, entirely at a loss as how to explain it. And this is what the women were experiencing.

They couldn't guess. They go to the tomb. The stone is rolled away. The tomb is completely empty, and they were greatly perplexed.

They were entirely at a loss. And I say, shame on them. Shame on them. I mean, they should have at least guessed.

Now, of course, Mary eventually does venture a guess. Maybe it was in her heart from the very beginning. Somebody has stolen the body. But initially, anyway, according to Scripture, they didn't have a clue.

They didn't even have a guess. They were perplexed. They were completely at a loss. And yet, as we shall see, they didn't have to guess about it.

They should have known. They should have known immediately. And I wonder if we would have been any different. probably not.

Probably not. You know, when certain things happen in our lives and happen in our world that are kind of crazy and we are completely caught off guard and, you know, like a lot of crazy things are happening in our world today, even in the area of politics.

I mean, who can explain all that? And we're kind of at a loss. And yet, quite often, the last thing we think is that this is God at work.

This is God's plan. This is God doing something. God accomplishing his divine purposes. I mean, when you look at an event in your life, something that happens suddenly, something that happens maybe even tragically, something unexplainable, something startling, something that just catches you totally by surprise, and you're trying, you're hard-pressed to try to figure out what has happened and why it has happened and what's it all about, and quite often, the very last thing you think is that God is at work.

That God is doing something. That God is moving the course of things according to his divine pleasure. Or that God is bringing things about in our lives for his greater glory and for our ultimate good.

I'm not saying that that thought never crosses our mind, but it's usually second or third or fourth way on down the list. And that's what was happening here with these women.

A startling reality. There was surprise where there should have been no surprise. Really. A startling reality.

Second, I want you to notice a supernatural revelation. revelation. A supernatural revelation. Now, fortunately, if you really look at the text closely, this loss as to why the tomb was empty and all of that, that didn't last long.

Not long at all for these women. In fact, Luke says there in verse 4, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that, behold, or look, something very sudden happened.

two men stood by them in shining garments or dazzling like lightning, literally, is what that means. And these men were not just mere mortals, of course, they were angels that had taken on human form and which angels did that quite a lot throughout Scripture.

And suddenly, there they are. And what they said to these women, of course, announces the greatest event in all of history.

The resurrection of Christ. That's what they announced. And so I want you to look at it. Verse 5 says, Why do you seek the living among the dead? That's the first thing they said to these women.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? Now, we need to pay close attention to this and kind of pick this apart because I would tell you that the Greek word translated, the living, is a participle.

It's not strictly a noun and it's singular. And so, if you understand how Greek works, you must supply the noun or the noun is implied.

In this case, the singular noun. And so, literally, they said, why do you seek the living one? The living one.

And then when you get to the latter part of the verse, the Greek word translated, the dead, is an adjective. Again, not a noun. And it is plural. Now, this is very, very deliberate.

It is plural. And so, again, the noun must be supplied. And it means the dead ones, the dead ones, the dead ones, the dead ones. Plural. And so, what is the angel asking? Why do you seek the living one among the dead ones?

He, the living one, is not here. And why should he be? Okay. I mean, this is a graveyard after all. A graveyard is for dead ones, the dead people.

And Jesus is not dead, the angel said, but is risen. Is risen. Greatest announcement in all of history. He is risen.

Now, people listen to me. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest event in all of history. You say, Pastor, I thought the cross was the greatest event.

Well, it was a great event. But without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless. Purposeless. Accomplished nothing. And Jesus, dead, now totally dissolved body, lying in some unmarked grave in the Middle East.

Resurrection is the most crucial doctrine that we have. It's the cornerstone of the gospel. In fact, I would say to you that according to Romans chapter 10 verses 9 and 10, you can't be saved apart from believing in the resurrection.

Do you know that? I've had somebody even actually say to me, in fact, someone very dear to me, even a family member, say, well, you know, you can believe in the resurrection, but it's really not that crucial. You can't be saved apart from believing it.

That's what Romans 10, 9 and 10 says, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, that is literally that He is Lord, and what? believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

It's crucial. And I would say also this, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 20, there is no eternal life apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul said, now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, those who have died. For since by man, little m, man, that's Adam, since by man came death, by man, that's capital M, man, Jesus Christ, also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. See how crucial the resurrection is? According to Acts chapter 2 verse 22, death now has no power against us because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. He said, men of Israel, men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst.

As you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined counsel, purpose, and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death whom God raised up.

Raised up, having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it. Because of that, neither are we.

And one more, and believe me, we could go on and on. According to Acts chapter 2 and verse 31, Jesus' exaltation as Lord and Christ was accomplished by his resurrection.

Peter is quoting, he quotes Psalm 16, and I'll not read that portion of the passage, but then he says about that Psalm, he said, David foreseeing, what did he foresee?

That Christ would be on his throne. Foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, that's just the grave, nor did his flesh see corruption.

This Jesus, God, has raised up. That's the resurrection. Of which we are all witnesses, therefore, verse 36, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.

See how crucial the resurrection is? The supernatural, a supernatural revelation. Why do you seek the living one among the dead ones?

He is not here, but is risen. And that leads us to a third important element in the story, a successful reminder.

A successful reminder, the angel went on to say something in verse 6, remember? Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee?

Do you remember that? Here are these ladies, they're carrying their spices and, you know, these ointments that they put on the body, I guess, a hundred pounds the few days before wasn't enough for them.

So they're going to, again, anoint the body of Jesus. They're very concerned that it be done properly. And so here they are, they're carrying all this stuff and the stone's rolled away and the tomb is empty.

And then the angel says, why do you seek the living one among the dead ones? He's not here, he's risen. Don't you remember? I'm sure they just struck them in the heart.

He said, do you remember what he told you while you were still in Galilee? Do you remember that? And then the angel paraphrases what Jesus had said to them and they heard him say these things.

The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again. Don't you remember that?

He asked them. The truth is, Jesus told them this explicitly at least two times. is two times recorded in Luke.

Let me remind you, Luke chapter 9 verse 22, the Son of Man must suffer many things. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples, the women being present there. We know they were present because the angel said, don't you remember what he said?

He knew they were there. And Jesus said to them, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed. They witnessed all of that.

They knew that it happened. But then he said, and be raised the third day. Don't you remember that? And again in Luke 18 and verse 31, Behold, we are going to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished for he will be delivered to the Gentiles.

And he was, wasn't he? and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. And he was. They will scourge him and kill him.

And he was. And these women were there to see that part of it. Then he said, and the third day he will rise again. Had they forgotten about that?

Well, apparently so. And, you know, these are two explicit statements concerning Jesus being delivered up, crucified, dying, and being raised on the third day.

Explicit statements about that. And there are others in the other Gospels. But Jesus also made some clear allusions to the resurrection. Remember what he said about Jonah.

He tied Jonah to what was going to happen to him. He says that Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. So will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth.

Have they forgotten that he said that? And also in John chapter 2 verse 18 the Jews, the Jewish leadership asked a question of Jesus.

They wanted a sign that Jesus was the Messiah. And Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

That's what he said to them. And you say, well, they thought he meant something else. No, they didn't. They knew exactly what he meant. And they remembered it. Because, you know, after the death of Jesus on the cross the Jews went to Pilate and they asked that Pilate have a seal affixed to the tomb, the official seal of Rome and place a guard there or guards there.

and why did they ask for that? Well, Matthew 27 and verse 62 says, we remember.

That's what the Pharisees said. It was even before the resurrection. Before any reports of an empty tomb. They said, we remember.

What did they remember? That while he was still alive, how that deceiver said, they're speaking of Jesus, he said, after three days I will rise. They remembered that.

Interesting. But they remembered what Jesus' disciples apparently had forgotten. Incredible. And so, the angel reminded the women of this.

And, praise the Lord, verse 8, they remembered his words. And that's good, isn't it? They remembered.

And the result of that was they believed. I think that's the idea that we're to understand in the very next verse. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

They believed. They were believers. And why? Because of what they saw? Or because of what Jesus said?

Because of what he said? And this is an important point. Remember, these women were perplexed initially. They were perplexed. They were entirely at a loss to explain all of this.

And they remained that way until, as the angel helped them, until they were reminded of Jesus' words. Essentially, the word of God.

And they believed. And that's how it works for us as well. That's why the word of God is so absolutely important in our ministry and in our preaching and in our teaching and in our witnessing.

You know, God's truth interprets life. You ever had a loss about life? Ever had a loss about some of the things that are going on?

It's God's word that interprets it. You see how important it is? God's word is what interprets the events of life. We don't understand the word of God in light of life's situations and events.

It's the other way around. We understand the events and situations of life in light of the word of God. You see. That's how true belief takes place in our hearts and understanding.

And so the empty tomb did not create faith in these women. That wasn't it. They could make no sense of it.

But rather, the words of Jesus created faith in them. Faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10.17 literally, faith comes by that which is heard. And that which is heard is the word of God.

So a startling reality, supernatural revelation, a successful reminder, and then finally this morning, a skeptical reaction.

So the women, they're now believers. They're believers that Jesus is alive from the dead.

In fact, Luke doesn't include this, but as the women are walking to go tell the disciples, Jesus meets with them, greets them, says hello. So they're believers.

And so they are running to tell the apostles and, you know, we can perhaps imagine the scene. I mean, they come in to the room there, the closed room.

You know, the disciples kind of hiding out, remember. They're thinking they're going to be next, you know, in this. So they come into the room and they're breathless and they've been running all the way and they're all talking at the same time.

He's alive. He's alive. We've seen Jesus. He's seen us. He's talked to us. He said hello to us. He's alive. The tomb is empty. And all of that. They're just going on and on and on.

And what was the reaction of the disciples? Well, verse 11. And their words seemed to them like idle tales.

Really? The specific word there in the Greek text, lyros, or leros, actually. it means silly talk.

Maybe one of them even said, oh, you silly women. I'm not trying to be demeaning to our women here, okay? Because the disciples have said it. Not me. Silly talk.

And then the Bible says these sad words. And they did not believe them.

They did not believe them. Even Peter, as we come to the close of this passage, even Peter, who himself saw the empty tomb, he and John went there and saw it.

Even Peter left, the Bible says, marveling. He marveled. That's not belief, okay? A lot of things we marvel at that we're not really believing in.

Hmm. What's all this about? He marveled at it. And yet, their unbelief, their unbelieving skepticism.

Did you know that it's a strong proof of the resurrection of Jesus? One of the claims made over the centuries by those who deny the resurrection actually got started with the Jewish leadership.

And one of the claims is that the tomb was empty because Jesus' disciples stole the body. You know, that's one of the main objections and lies about the resurrection.

It's been told all throughout for the last 2,000 years. Disciples stole the body and they stole the body to make it appear that Jesus was raised from the dead. They knew he had predicted it and so they got to make sure that it really does happen in some way and so they can continue starting their new religion.

And that's been the claim by many skeptics over the years. There's one big problem with that. The disciples didn't even believe it.

They didn't even believe the tomb was empty. In fact, the women went to the tomb with all those spices and perfumes, you know, expecting to find Jesus' body there.

right? And yet, when they found the stone rolled away and when they found the tomb empty, they were perplexed.

That doesn't sound like a conspiracy, you know, to rob the body and try to make people believe something that's not true.

They were perplexed, entirely at a loss. And when the disciples heard this from the women about the empty tomb, they didn't believe it. Two of them, Peter and John, went to verify.

They went to the tomb, see it for themselves, you know. Pretty strange behavior for grave robbers, I would think. And even after Peter saw it for himself, he still did not believe it.

You know, let's just be reasonable in our thinking about this. You know that all the disciples, except John, died martyrs' death.

Why did they die a martyr's death? Because they would not deny the gospel. They would not deny Jesus, and that would include his death, burial, and resurrection.

They all died martyrs' death, because they would not deny that. would anyone die a martyr's death for a lie?

Would they? I'm talking about a lie they themselves knew was a lie. Not only that, but a lie that they themselves made up.

Would they do that? See what a powerful proof this is of the resurrection. I mean, would you? Would you die for a lie that you knew was a lie because you were the one who started it?

Started the lie. Well, no, you would not. Of course not. So I guess Jesus was indeed raised from the dead.

Just like the Bible says. Jesus is alive. from the dead.

He lives now. His is a continuing story. Continues with you, me. On beyond us.

To his second coming. And to his rule, his reign, and on into eternity. Jesus is alive.

His story continues. And as the old hymn sings, you ask me how I know he lived? He lives within my heart.

Does he live in your heart? Thank you.