HOPE AND HEALING: THE RESURRECTING KING

Pastor Josh Weisbrod - April 12, 2020

KEY IDEA: Jesus invites everyone into the new life of his resurrection.

KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 28:1-10

SUMMARY: We all in some ways long for resurrection, wondering how all the broken and dead things in our life will ever live again. The empty tomb is one of the most powerful statements in all of human history.

He is not here, he is risen – Come and see!

The resurrection is proof of Jesus’ divinity

· Read Matthew 28:1-10

· Jesus spent most of his ministry with the marginalized and unwanted and preached hope.

· Those that the world despised, He loved, sat with, ate with, walked with, lived with—everyone the world says you should avoid, He spent time with – the sick, hurting, difficult, outcast, unwanted, sick and broken.

1. People say Jesus was a good teacher

· What Jesus taught about caring for others is counter cultural to the most extreme degree

· What they didn’t like is when he said things like:

· John 14:6 – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

· We like Jesus the teacher. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God that the world struggles with because of His exclusive claim to divinity.

· Jesus wasn’t just a teacher – He is the Messiah, the Son of God. Luke 19:10

2. People that say Jesus did not die, but fainted

· This is only possible if you ignore the weight of scientific evidence that he died. The Romans were great at killing people--beating, torture, crucifixion – which is well documented.

· If he rose from the dead that would mean he was truly who He said He was—meaning that he was divine. He was God. It would also mean that what he said about following Him and not following Him was true. It means His exclusive claim to divinity is correct.

3. People say Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, but “they” took the body

· Romans took the body. Why didn’t they produce the body to shut down His followers?

· Jewish leaders took the body. Why didn’t they bring out the body to end this heresy?

· His disciples took the body. They would have had to overpower the Roman guard. There was no benefit to them. None of them get rich or powerful. They early church was built on the testimony of women who were given very little societal leverage and spent all of their effort on the least of society, the sick and hurting. They disciple died penniless and most of them died brutally by being tortured and killed.

· The disciples knew that Jesus rose from the dead. Since Jesus rose from the dead, then it means He fulfilled what He promised. He is God and He brought about a new covenant and defeated death. They knew He was who He said He was which is why they could not deny Christ even in the face of death. Jesus brought the transforming hope and healing of His resurrection to us.

The resurrection is the death of death

· Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and sin nature was brought into our world. Since the beginning we have been under the curse of death. Even then God had a plan.

· Satan “bit the heel” of Christ when he crucified him. Genesis 3:15

· When Jesus was resurrected and emptied the grave He emptied death of its power. Acts 2:22–24

· Because the grave is empty it means that Jesus is alive and He has won. 1 Corinthians 15:55

· He has defeated death which means that through his resurrection we have victory over death.

The resurrection is an invitation to new life

· Jesus took all the sin and shame from us; He buried it in the grave, and rose to bring us new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17

· The empty tomb declares the Jesus is risen and death is defeated. We receive the invitation of new life through the risen king.

· Why stay locked in death when you have been given a living hope?

· Jesus took our sins and defeated death because Jesus so deeply loves us. 1 Peter 1:3

· We could never pay for our sins. Only the perfect Son of God could pay the debt for our sins.

· Jesus loves us so much that he took the weight of our sins, defeated death, and rose again to bring us new life. While the crucifixion shows us His love, the resurrection shows us His power. John 10:10

· We are no longer slaves to sin, no longer bound to brokenness, no longer lost in hopelessness. We have received new life through Christ. Romans 6:4

The resurrection is hope and healing for every person

· No life is beyond the resurrecting power of Jesus Christ – there is nothing that the Resurrected King cannot resurrect. There is no life too broken, no heart too far, no chasm too deep, no separation so great, no mistake so big, that is beyond the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

· He brings you salvation as a free gift of hope and healing.

• If He was resurrected then he can resurrect your life and he can resurrect your family and relationships. There is hope for every future and healing from every past (Ephesians 2:4–10)

· Jesus, the resurrected King, has come to bring hope and healing to you today – He’s already paid for your sins, He’s already defeated death for your sake, and He is now inviting you to receive the hope and healing that comes from him. Romans 10:13 - The word saved means healed and rescued

Reflection:

Use these reflection questions as a way to deepen your relationship with God. Allow the Holy Spirit to shine a light into your heart.

1) What part of the Easter story has always been your favorite? Did that change for you this year? If it did, how?

2) Why do you think some people struggle with Jesus’ exclusive claim to divinity? (John 14:6 – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”)

3) What might happen in our world if Christians everywhere lived with the same conviction that the first disciples who were closest to Jesus had? *The disciples knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was who He said He was because they personally experienced His death and resurrection first hand and they did not turn away even in the face of being killed for their faith in Him.

4) How easy or difficult is it for you to believe that no person and no situation are beyond the hope and healing of Jesus? Why is that?

5) Sometimes it may be difficult to share the hope and healing of Jesus when we are still in need of hope and healing ourselves. In what area of your life do you most need hope or healing right now?

6) In the current situation, what are some ways that each of us can spread the hope and healing of Jesus?

Bonus Challenge:

Grow Your Hope! If you need your hope strengthened, choose one (or more) of the verses below. Speak these verses out loud over yourself. Speak them frequently and you will memorize them easily. Watch your hope in God grow.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Psalm 119:114

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Psalm 42:11

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 25:5

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Hope And Healing: The Resurrecting King