How Do You Lift Up the Risen Lord?
Intro:
1. Jn 3:14-15 - Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
Matthew 27:62-28:8
2. Lord Jesus will be lifted up. He chooses you & me to do the lifting!
3. There’s been a struggle going on through human history - some have chosen to hold Him down & others have chosen to hold Him up.
4. What have you chosen to do?
I. 27:62-66 - Men Could Not Hold Him Down!
A. They tried by rejecting His authority.
1. ILL: The Synagogue in Nazareth (Lk 4:28-30).
2. ILL: When the Crowds asked for Barabbas (Matt 27:15-26).
3. But rejecting Him only brought attention to the contrast between their sinful lives & His perfect one.
B. They tried by crucifying Him.
1. But that only opened wide the door to heaven. ILL: The curtain in the Temple torn (Matt 27:51).
2. The Law of Moses & the whole OT system became fulfilled & obsolete.
C. They tried by guarding His tomb (27:62-66).
1. Can you imagine the humiliation of heavily armed Roman soldiers having to guard a corpse?
2. Imagine trying to explain what actually happened!
D. They will continue to try holding Him down by:
1. Denying God’s existence.
2. Ridiculing your faith.
3. Living lives contrary to God’s desires for us.
II. 28:1-6 - Death Could Not Hold Him Down!
A. God is the only One who could die & then have the power to resurrect Himself!
1. The resurrection proves that Lord Jesus was God in flesh.
2. The resurrection provides the hope you need that you will someday be resurrected too.
B. But people go to extremes to deny that the resurrection actually happened. Popular explanations:
1. The Moral Theory - the resurrection was a big fraud!
a. The disciples stole the Lord’s body & then lied about it.
b. But they would have had to overpower & subdue a squad of heavily armed Roman soldiers.
c. Would these same people later endure torture & death defending what they knew to be a lie?
d. They would have had to go against their own Jewish background & the Lord’s own clear teachings to defend a lie!
2. The Medical Theory: the Lord merely lapsed into a comma.
a. He revived in the tomb, rolled the stone away & walked out. The disciples were not the liars, the Lord was!
b. But - the Lord was beaten, then scourged, then he carried His cross, then He hung on it for 6 hours & then a spear was thrust into His side.
c. The Centurion, an expert in such matters, proclaimed Him dead.
d. Pilate was convinced that He was dead.
e. Lord Jesus laid in the sealed tomb 1 1/2 days with no food, no water & very little oxygen.
f. Then He had the strength to roll back that huge stone single handed & sneak past the guards.
g. You need more faith to believe that than you do for the resurrection!
3. The Psychological Theory: all the disciples saw hallucinations.
a. These visions were the result of excited imaginations.
b. But this psychological condition presupposes expectancy.
c. Nobody expected the resurrection!
(1) ILL: Mary at the tomb (Jn 20:15).
(2) ILL: On the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-33).
(3) ILL: The other women (Matt 28:1-6).
d. Does more than one person have the same hallucination?
(1) ILL: The Disciples with & without Thomas (Jn 20:17-31).
(2) ILL: The 7 in Galilee (Jn 21:4-12).
(3) ILL; Over 500 who saw Him at one time (I Cor 15:6).
III. 28:7-8 - You Must Lift Him Up, But How?
A. The Lord said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” - Jn 12:32.
1. The one infallible proof for the resurrection is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Col 1:27.
2. When people see the resurrected Lord living His life in & through you, then they will be convinced!
B. How can you lift Him up?
1. Through your verbal witness. Matt 10:32 - “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
2. Through your living His life. Matt 5:15-16 - Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Lord Jesus has risen from the dead!
He lives His resurrection life today in & through each of you who have yielded your life to Him.
So - if you have really committed your life to the Lord Jesus -
you are lifting Him up!
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