The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Transcript

Welcome everyone!

Happy Easter! Or Resurrection Sunday, more plainly called.

Of all the holidays, or Holy-Days, that we celebrate, Resurrection Sunday is absolutely the most important holiday. The most significant holiday.

And the reason we celebrate Easter is because we are honoring the most important person ever in our history. We are commemorating the most significant event in all of history.

And the most significant event in all of history is the Resurrection of a Man. And not just any man. But a man who claimed to be God.

What does it mean for you, what does it mean for me, if the dead can truly be raised back to life. If resurrection is possible.

The idea of resurrection was wrapped in mystery before Jesus Christ came into the world.

But now Jesus Christ has made it plain. We just have to read the Scriptures.

Several nights ago I was reading to my daughter. And I picked up a book. It was a Sherlock Holmes mystery book.

Now normally when I read a book to my kids, I just pour through it. Some of these books I’ve read so many times, I can almost turn off certain parts off my brain, and just coast as I read them.

But when I started reading this mystery book, I started recognizing that I was being given important data. I started recognizing that I was being given important clues.

And I had in myself a desire to try and solve the mystery before the mystery became revealed in the book.

A lot of clues were given. There were even a few red herrings, clues intended to mislead.

And I tried my best to connect all the dots.

But it was Sherlock Holmes in the story who was able to investigate and notice all of the oddities.

In the aftermath of the story, Sherlock Holmes explains to his assistant how he was able to interpret all the clues and solve the murder mystery.

Now as I read the conclusion of the story, it became pretty clear to me I never would have been able to properly interpret all the clues that were given.

I never would have been able to solve the mystery. Even with all the clues, I was still too much in the dark. I needed Sherlock Holmes to connect all the dots and make everything plain for me.

And that is what the mystery of the Resurrection is like. We have all these clues in the Old Testament Scriptures. We have all these hints. We have all these foreshadows.

But it wasn’t until Jesus Christ came who made plain for us the mystery of the resurrection, both with his words, and also with his body.

And today, we will discover the plainness of the resurrection, and the implications it has for you and for me. We will do this by reading select portions of Scripture from 1 Corinthians, chapter 15.

So let me open up in prayer, and we can begin.

*Prayer

Now in our Sherlock Holmes mystery story that I referenced, the mystery comes to a satisfying conclusion, with all loose ends tied up and the clues now making sense.

And that is what we have in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. And our Sherlock Holmes for the Bible is none other than the great Apostle Paul, who in my opinion, is the most learned man in history.

Being above the likes of Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato. Being given the best Jewish education. Being given the best Roman education. And then being taught directly by Jesus himself.

So that being said, let’s begin reading and explore this mystery of the Resurrection:

[1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NKJV] 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you–unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

So first and foremost, what happened to Jesus Christ was no surprise. Christ dying for sin, being buried, and rising again, was all according to Scripture.

The Old Testament contains numerous prophecies and typologies that foretold Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In Isaiah 53, we have one of the clearest prophecies about Jesus’ suffering and death for the sins of mankind. It describes the suffering servant who is pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and by whose wounds we are healed.

In Psalm 22, we have a prophecy of the crucifixion of Christ, detailing sufferings that match the events of Jesus’ execution, including being forsaken by God, surrounded by his enemies, having hands and feet pierced, and most specifically, how they divided his garments by casting lots.

The Bible predicted a crucifixion death, even before crucifixion was practiced by the Assyrians, who then gave it to the Persians, who passed it to the Carthaginians and Macedonians, and eventually, to the Romans.

We also have foreshadowing in the Old Testament.

In Genesis 22, God tells Abraham to take his one and only son whom he loves, and to sacrifice him on a mountain that God would tell him.

And so Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac is viewed as a foreshadowing of God the Father offering His only begotten Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity.

In fact, Abraham was so confident in God’s promises, that Abraham told his servant, “Issac and I will go up to the mountain, and we will both return to you”. When Issac asked, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham responded, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son”. Which God did, 2,000 years later, when he gave up his One and only son, Jesus, on the cross.

Hebrews 11 even tells us that Abraham’s faith was so strong that Abraham believed that if Issac were to be killed, God would even raise him from the dead because it was through Issac that God’s promises would be fulfilled.

In this regard, Issac became a type of Christ because Abraham received his son back alive. Even though Abraham never slayed him, Issac was counted as dead because of God’s command to Abraham.

We also have the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12. It was the lamb’s blood which spared the Israelites from the angel of death. This foreshadows Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross because it is the blood of Jesus that saves you and me from sin.

In Numbers 21, We see Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, which brought healing to anyone who looked upon it, that had been bitten by venomous snakes.

So John 3 teaches us that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. So that whoever looks upon Jesus, whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.

We also have in the book of Jonah, Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish.

This is cited by Jesus Himself as foreshadowing His own three days in the tomb before His resurrection.

So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, Jesus said.

Even John the Baptist who I consider the last of the Old Testament Prophets, said of Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”.

And there are more references, but you get the idea. God’s Messiah was ordained from the foundations of the world, to be sacrificed, to be buried, and to be resurrected, all for the purpose of saving men and women from sin. From the consequences of sin.

Let’s keep reading:

5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

The primary evidence we have for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the empty tomb. And the empty tomb must be explained in some way.

But the second main evidence we have for the Resurrection are the many and varied eyewitness testimonies.

The first eyewitness account is Mary Magdalene. Later we have another group of women who see the Resurrected Christ.

Then we have the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Then Peter saw him alive. Then the 10 Apostles. And then again all 11 Apostles.

Then there was the appearance to over 500 believers at once, many of whom were still living at the time Paul wrote this text in Corinthians.

Then the resurrected Jesus appeared to James, the half brother of Jesus, who went on to write the book of James, and became the leader of the church of Jerusalem.

It would be hard to convince your half brother that you are God incarnate. But when you see a man who days ago was crucified, now alive, your opinion will change, as it did for James.

This all happened within a 40 day period before Jesus ascended back up to the Father.

And after his ascension, Jesus revealed himself to Stephen right before he was martyred. He appeared to the Apostle Paul at least four times. And then he revealed himself to the Apostle John as recorded in the book of Revelation.

If you were just to treat the texts in the Bible as a historical document, which it also is by the way. It is both Scripture, but also a recording of history.

There is more historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ than many other events we accept to be fact in history.

In “The Histories” by Herodotus, who is often called the father of history, in recorded accounts where he was not an eyewitness, Herodotus often relied on single sources.

The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar, which is Caesar’s first hand account of the Gallic Wars. Undoubtedly it is biased. But it’s all we have of the Gallic Wars.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius is one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in human history. What we know about it comes from the writings of Pliny the Younger who provided an eyewitness account of the eruption in AD 79, which led to the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

And yet with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The number of people who claimed to see a resurrected man alive, who previously had been horribly scourged and crucified, who Isaiah said was marred more than any man, the number of people who saw Jesus alive, was above 500 people. With 4 original sources of eyewitness accounts: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

And outside of the Bible, we have Tacitus who said that Jesus was crucified, and also Josephus’ writings which describes Jesus as a wise man and the Christ, claiming that he appeared to his followers alive again the third day after his crucifixion.

Probably one of our most celebrated generals in history is Alexander the Great. And what we believe to be true about Alexander the Great, we read from authors like Arrian, Quintis Rufus, Plutarch, Justin, who lived 400 to 470 years after Alexander died.

And with Jesus, we have first hand eyewitness accounts. Over 500 of them.

So if you want to be intellectually honest, you have more historical reasons to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, than many other events we accept to be true in history.

Let’s keep reading.

[1 Corinthians 15:12-15 NKJV] 12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise.

Now in the Bible the term “Sheol” or “Hades” is used to describe the place of the dead. It is a waiting place for souls prior to final judgment.

Now just to make clear, the Bible teaches after a person dies, their soul goes to this place of the dead, called Hades.

Now within Hades, separated by a great chasm, there is space which the Bible refers to as Abraham’s bosom, which is a place of comfort and rest, reserved for those who are faithful.

There is also a place called Tartarus, which is a deep pit reserved for certain fallen angels.

And then there is that part of Hades which is a place of Torment. It seems that those who are guilty of sin, end up there after death awaiting final judgment.

All three of these places are temporary places before final judgment and resurrection.

Final judgment happens at the end of this age at the Great White Throne Judgement for those souls still guilty of sin. This is what the Bible plainly teaches us.

So if you are found guilty of sin, If your sins have not been covered by the blood of the Lamb, then the Bible says your final destination is a place called Gehenna, also known as the Lake of Fire. It is a place of eternal punishment. Also referred to as the second death.

Hades and the Lake of Fire are as different as jails and prisons. In our justice system, jails are used to detain individuals who have been charged with a crime and are awaiting trial or sentencing.

Prisons are designed for long-term confinement of individuals who have been convicted and found guilty of crimes.

Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire, is God’s place of long-term confinement after the Great White Throne Judgement.

In Luke 16, there is a story told by Jesus of a certain rich man and Lazarus.

The rich man lives in luxury, and Lazarus, a poor beggar is covered with sores, who lies at the rich man’s gate longing for food scraps from the rich man’s table. Dogs even come and lick Lazarus’ sores, highlighting just how miserable of a condition Lazarus was in.

And then the story quickly shifts to the afterlife where their fortunes are reversed.

Lazarus dies and is carried by angels to “Abraham’s bosom,” a place of comfort and rest. The rich man also dies and is buried, but he finds himself in Hades where he is in torment.

In his torment, the rich man sees Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He calls out to Abraham begging for Lazarus to be sent to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue because he is in agony from the flames.

[Luke 16:25-26 NASB95] 25 “…Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.

26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’

So that’s what life after death looks like in the Bible before final judgment.

Now Paul just told us that if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not risen from the dead. But instead, Jesus would still be in that underworld.

And his body would have seen corruption being in the tomb still. And also, death would not have been conquered.

We would be without hope. Because if Jesus can not be resurrected back to life, who was sinless, then surely we will not be resurrected back to life, who are sinners.

Now the testimony we have of Jesus, with his 500 plus resurrection witnesses. With his 4 first hand sources of eyewitness accounts. With 5 secular sources mentioning him or his early Christian followers.

Are you ready to reject the testimonies regarding Jesus Christ and his resurrection, but are ready to accept many other facts in history to be true, that we have fewer sources on?

Jesus, who became famous, not just in his generation, but across all generations, became famous because of this reputation he had, raising another man named Lazaruz from the dead, feeding the 5,000, walking on the water, healing a man born blind, healing lepers which had never happened in Jewish history.

Could Jesus really do all these things, but not conquer death for himself? Is Paul a liar here? Did all the Apostles die horrible, torturous deaths, for what they knew to be a lie?

According to tradition, The king of Armenia was angered by The Apostle Bartholomew and his spreading of the gospel, and also the conversion of his brother to Christinaity.

And so the king ordered Bartholomew to be executed by having his skin flayed, with the goal of keeping others, through fear, from adopting the Christian faith.

Despite the pain of such a death, Bartholomew continued to proclaim the Gospel and that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, even to his last breath.

Remember, the Apostles died not for some belief they received from some other person. But they died for what they saw. What could convince 11 men that they saw a resurrected man, alive.

Paul tells us most assuredly, Christ indeed has risen from the dead.

[1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NKJV] 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

Those who believe in Christ, those who belong to Christ, who are counted as a child of God, as Christ was risen from the dead, we too will also rise from the dead. And be given bodies like Jesus’ resurrected body.

Paul continues:

[1 Corinthians 15:35-38 NKJV] 35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain–perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

Paul is telling us here, go look at nature to understand what the resurrection will be like. And specifically, go look at the seeds.

When you plant a seed in the ground, what you get is not that seed again. A seed does not die, and sprout up from the ground giving you back that same seed and only that seed.

But instead the seed dies, and transforms into a glorious plant.

And a sunflower seed doesn’t produce a melon plant.

A dahlia seed, doesn’t produce an oak tree.

An acorn seed doesn’t produce a wheat plant.

But instead a sunflower seed produces a beautiful sunflower. A dahlia seed produces stunning Dahlias. A zinnia seed produces an array of colorful zinnias. A peony seed produces a glorious peony plant.

And so Paul says that our bodies will follow that same pattern that we observe in nature. So what we sow into the ground as seed when we die is our natural body. What Christ will raise up is our spiritual body.

Our spiritual body will be directly related to our natural body. Like how a dahlia seed produces a dahlias plant, and not a peony plant.

But our spiritual bodies, while related to our natural bodies, will also be radically different from our natural bodies. It will be as different as a seed is to its plant.

And so what we sow into the ground in weakness, with the frailty of our flesh, God will raise up in power and in glory. What we sow in a perishable body, God will raise up as an imperishable body.

Those that belong to Christ will have these spiritual bodies that are like Jesus’ resurrected body.

Jesus’ body was tangible. You could touch it. But it also had qualities that went beyond the limitations of a normal physical body.

In John 20, Jesus invites Thomas to touch His wounds. And in Luke 24, He shows His hands and feet to the disciples, encouraging them to see and touch him. “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have”.

Jesus eats broiled fish in the presence of His disciples demonstrating the physical reality of His spiritual body.

And then at the same time, Jesus’ resurrection body could appear and disappear. We read He was able to enter locked rooms, indicating a body not limited by physical barriers or space.

Just right there you have the setting of what could be exciting fiction novels, with these spirit bodies not limited by the normal laws of nature, living in the New Heavens and New Earth.

Yet even with what the most creative fiction authors can come up with, Jesus tells us, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him”.

There is a lot for a Christian to be excited about.

The resurrection body is described as being glorious, immortal, and incapable of decay. Unlike our current mortal and perishable bodies that we currently possess.

The nature of Jesus’ resurrection body is seen as both a promise and a model for believers, indicating that those who are in Christ will also be raised with a spiritual, glorified body like His.

But there are conditions. The Bible says, everyone will be resurrected. But not everyone will be resurrected to life. Many who die in their sins, the Bible says, will be resurrected, but to damnation. Vessels fitted for wrath.

This is very clearly taught in the Bible. There are consequences for sin. And there are consequences for rejecting God’s offer to be reconciled back to him.

Here is the reality. God offers to you right now a way to be reconciled back to Him.

You have sinned. And not only have you sinned. Not only have I sinned. But you and I both have a sin nature.

When we sin, we do only what is natural to us. But God has made it possible for us to have our hearts regenerated.

To be given new hearts. And it starts by coming to the feet of Jesus Christ at the cross. Whose blood was shed for you and for me, for the remission of sins.

Then Paul continues in our text:

And this will be the most important verse for you to hear today.

[1 Corinthians 15:50 NKJV] 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

Let me read it again so you can really process this verse:

[1 Corinthians 15:50 NKJV] 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

What did Jesus tell Nicodemus: “Truly, Truly, I tell you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.

Jesus reiterates it again to Nicodemus:

“Truly, Truly, I tell you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”.

To be born of water is a reference to being born from your mother’s womb with the amniotic fluid being called water.

So except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That means all of us here have 50% of the qualification right now to enter into the Kingdom of God, just by being born from our mother’s womb.

But not everyone here has that other 50%. Not everyone here has been born of the Spirit.

Being born of the Spirit is when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person who genuinely repents of their sins, and confesses Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and has their heart regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

At age 22, I became a Christian. I genuinely repented of my sins, and trusted alone in Jesus, acknowledging him as my Lord and my God.

And like every other believer, I was given the gift of the Holy Spirit that dwells inside of me, even now.

Now when the Holy Spirit came upon me, I did not feel anything. There was no bright light, there was no vibration, there were no pins and needles, there was no physical sensation, there was no burning in the bosom. There was no audible sound or voice.

It was as noticeable as a shadow at midnight.

But I tell you the truth, God’s Holy Spirit most assuredly came upon me, because the promises that come along with the Holy Spirit, had effect on me.

My heart was completely changed. My morality was turned inside out. All of a sudden I valued life to a higher degree. I regarded virtue to a higher degree.

My heart became humble and soft, when before it was proud and stubborn. My capacity to love strangers, and seek their best interest over mine, and even to love those I didn’t like, became present within me, when before it was not.

It is the changing of the human heart that is the greatest miracle in this world. And God can do it. God wants to do it. And he does this, when you come to him in faith.

And His Spirit will come upon you, and you will become spiritually reborn. Your heart will become regenerated.

If you are trusting in your flesh and blood. In your own good works. In your own standard of goodness, you will perish. The Bible says so. Flesh and blood alone can not inherit the kingdom of God.

You have to be born of water, and of the Spirit. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter”.

This is the key.

And you being filled with God’s Spirit is what God has always desired. God desires his Spirit to be in all people. We hear this even from Moses, all the way back in Exodus:

In Numbers 11, we find Moses burdened by the weight of guiding the Israelites through the wilderness after leaving Egypt.

The people had been complaining about their hardships, longing for the food they left behind in Egypt, and they have become tired of this manna from heaven.

And Moses, feeling the pressure from those he is leading, cries out to God for help.

God responds by instructing Moses to gather seventy of Israel’s elders, and to bring them to the Tent of Meeting. There, God promises to take some of the Spirit that is on Moses and place it on these elders, so they can share the burden of leadership and provide support to Moses.

Now two men, Eldad and Medad, who were not in the tent but were part of the seventy, also received the Spirit and began to prophesy back in the camp.

Joshua, a young and loyal companion to Moses, hears of this and reports to Moses. Being jealous for Moses’ sake, Joshua urges Moses to stop them, for he thought only Moses should have this gift of the Spirit on him.

But Moses, ever the humble and wise leader, looks forward to the future.

He expresses no jealousy or the desire to keep God’s gift of the Spirit for a select few, but instead, he wishes that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them all.

Moses desired and anticipated the day when all of God’s people would have His Spirit within them. By this, Moses looked forward to the New Covenant.

Where God will pour out his Spirit upon the house of Israel. And that God would remove their heart of stone. And give them a heart of flesh.

And while this covenant in Jeremiah was specifically for the whole house of Israel, Jesus has initiated the New Covenant with his blood.

And this covenant is in the process of being carried out right now, with God’s Spirit being poured out on any person who calls upon the name of Jesus.

And so right now, Gentiles are being grafted into the family of Abraham. And more and more Jews are acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah.

Until one day future, all of Israel will know the Lord. From the least of them to the greatest. And God will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sins no more.

This offer is available to you now. Ask within your heart, do you want to truly know the Lord? Do you want God to forgive all of your sins?

Even those secret sins that no one else knows about? Do you want God to remove your heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh.

Come to the feet of Jesus at the Cross.

He stands at the door and knocks, and wants to sup with you. He wants to live inside of you. He wants to put his Spirit upon you.

God has always dwelled with his people in one form or another:

In the beginning, in the Book of Genesis, God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God had a close and personal relationship with them.

After man sinned, and after the Exodus from Egypt, God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle, a portable dwelling place where God would live among the Israelites during their journey in the wilderness.

Then King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem as a permanent dwelling place for God to live among the Israelites, replacing the Tabernacle. And so God’s presence filled the Temple.

Then in the New Testament, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus, being fully God and fully man, lived among humanity, teaching, healing, and ultimately providing salvation through His death and resurrection.

After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, Jesus promised to send the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within His followers.

And so on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, marking the beginning of God’s new covenant presence within believers, enabling them to live godly lives and be witnesses to the world.

And then the Bible ends with the promise of a new heavens and a new earth where God will dwell with His people forever and ever, removing all barriers between God and humanity.

This ultimate fulfillment of God dwelling with his children, also includes the elimination of all suffering, sin, pain, and death, completing the story of redemption and restoration.

And this is the great hope we have to look forward to. This is why Jesus Christ died on the cross. This is why the terrible crucifixion that happened on Friday, became good Friday. Because on Sunday, Jesus would defeat death, being resurrected back to life.

Jesus said:

[John 10:17-18 NASB95] 17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

Jesus, by his own authority and will, resurrected himself from the dead.

And it was for the joy that was set before him that Jesus was willing to endure the cross, despising the shame.

The joy of you being reconciled back to God. The joy of one day raising you back to life, with your resurrected body, and being present with God in the New Heavens and New Earth.

In this life, you get 25 years of a strong healthy body. Then you get another 50 years of a slowly failing body.

Until one day, your body is sown into the ground.

The question for you, What nature will your body that is sown into the ground become? Will it become a glorious body like that of Jesus’? Resurrected back to life? Or will it become a body resurrected, fit for destruction?

Remember, Jesus said, “you must, you must be born of water, and of the Spirit. If you are not born of the Spirit, you can not enter the kingdom of God”.

Now Paul will finish, and give us a clear explanation of this mystery of resurrection.

[1 Corinthians 15:51-57 NKJV] 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Gracie and I finished our mystery book, there was this satisfaction that everything now made sense.

All the suspense, all the doubting, all the questions I had while I was reading through it was now plain and clear for me.

There was no more mystery.

And I could lay my head down and revisit in my mind every clue, every doubt, every prediction I once had, and I could reframe it in light of my new understanding.

And now you have this opportunity.

There is no more mystery whether Jesus is dead or not. There is no more mystery whether Jesus is the Messiah or not. There is no more mystery whether Jesus is God or not. There is no more mystery about our future life.

The conclusion of it all. Jesus is alive!

And God raising Jesus back to life, validates every single claim that Jesus made.

If Jesus was raised back to life by the glory of the Father, then what he said in the book of Matthew, what he said in the book of Mark, what he said in the book Luke, what he said in the book of John, they are all true!

Every portion of Scripture, every question Jesus asked, every command he gave, can now be revisited in light of this marvelous truth, that Jesus is alive.

At one point, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets”.

Jesus then said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

[Matthew 16:16-17 NASB95] 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

flesh and blood did not reveal this to Peter, but the Father who is in heaven.

Recognizing Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, comes not from human wisdom or effort but through revelation from God.

This means that spiritual awareness is accessible to anyone, regardless of your educational background, regardless of your social status, regardless of your intellect.

Instead, it means that God is able to reveal Himself to any person who seeks Him.

Are you truly seeking God right now?

The Bible says: seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

And the Bible says that Jesus stands at the door and knocks. But you must open the door to him by confessing him.

Who do you say that Jesus is?

Is he just a good moral teacher? Is he just a prophet? Or is he something more? Is he the Christ, the Son of God, God incarnate?

When I became convinced of the miraculous nature of Jesus. When I became convinced that Jesus had power, even to raise himself from the dead, it became easy to confess him as Christ.

And since Jesus is truly alive, since he conquered death, since he was resurrected back to life by the power of the Father, it is now easy to accept who he claimed to be.

And who he claimed to be, was God.

So who do you say that Jesus is?

Since Jesus is alive, you can now revisit every claim Jesus made in light of that marvelous resurrection truth.

Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am”. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one,”. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. And Jesus did not reject being worshiped as God.

Before the resurrection, you could hesitate in believing those claims. Israel did, and they charged Jesus with blasphemy. And that is what got him put on the cross.

But now that Jesus has defeated death and is alive, any claim that Jesus previously made is now easy to accept.

And it was this resurrection truth that opened up the floodgates, starting in Acts chapter 2, for the whole world to be able to accept Jesus as God.

And so what do you do with this marvelous truth? Peter tells us in Acts 2:

Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I encourage you. Do this right now.

Let me close in prayer.