The Resurrection by John Stapleton

YouTuber John Stapleton takes a break from his regular show to talk about The Resurrection of Easter.

Be sure to subscribe. Also, if you’re on the go or in the car, click on the podcast play button to listen to the audio just below the YouTube video.

The Resurrection

Happy Easter

We will never get over Jesus because he is our life (Colossians 3:4)! Jesus has fixed our greatest issue, which is sin that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). If you have not given your sin to Jesus, God is still angry with you. God really does “hate all evildoers” (Psalm 5:5). God hates sin and it can be nowhere near him because he is holy. But the blood of Jesus has paid for this massive sin problem we have and now, by trusting in Jesus alone, we can “come to the Father” (John 14:6, NLT).

Today we examine the resurrection.

Paul boldly claims that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). Jesus died for our sins and then he rose from the dead to give us his righteousness. If Jesus stayed dead, there would be no proof that our sins have been paid for and there is no grace for us, only mercy. That will only sustain us for a while.

The good news, however, is that Jesus rose from the dead and “consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). In another place, it is written that “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). I can’t stress it enough: it is extremely important that he is alive and reigning today.

In Luke’s Gospel

There are a few interesting events that aren’t recorded anywhere else. The scene opens with some of Jesus’ most devoted disciples going to the tomb to embalm Jesus. The women see a very peculiar sight – the guards are gone and the entrance to the tomb is wide open.

A voice cuts through their confusion: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:5-7). At that moment, it clicks for the women. They go and tell the men, the eleven disciples, “but they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11).

Jesus’ Sense of Humor

Later, Jesus spends the afternoon with two people traveling for more than seven miles. Jesus disguises himself and seems to be in a humorous mood. They are bummed out over the events of the crucifixion and Jesus pretends like he needs to be updated on the past events. Tell me Jesus doesn’t have a sense of humor!

Then Jesus gets serious, rebuking them for their unbelief. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

I would love to have been a part of that Bible study, but my imagination and knowledge of the Bible will suffice until glory. I imagine that Jesus cherry-picked stories, systematically working through the Old Testament from Abraham, to Moses, to David, to the prophets; they all were pointing to Jesus!

Jesus unpacks this again for his disciples later

“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things’” (Luke 24:44-48).

Speaking of witnesses, the Apostle Paul has some thoughts found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, and this is what I want to think about after reading this. First, the most important thing is that Jesus died for sin and rose to give us grace. Secondly, everything happened according to God’s predetermined plan. Third, he appeared to over 500 people! Back then, eyewitness testimony was the most compelling evidence available. And he also appeared to his disciples who turned from cowards to courageous men who subjected themselves to horrible executions because they believed that Jesus is the life-giver who will raise them back from the dead.

Will you put your trust in Jesus?

Tweet

Click Here To Read More By John Stapleton