Resurrection Hope

It is absolutely amazing to me how as I grow older and slow way down—the calendar and the clock seem to speed ahead so fast that it places unreasonable necessity on our decision making process. When I was twenty-five, it seemed that there was an entire life-time available to use in making important decisions about life, work and my family. Now I have only a few hours to prepare for the end of life, find someone that will do a little work for me, and allow me a little time to enjoy two aging daughters, five grand children and two great-grand sons.

The winter came and went so soon; the wild madness of basketball and track blew by during the windy month of March and now baseball is in season and already the preparation for another foot-ball season is under way. It seems we are watching the final four in the play-offs about every three months. It is the same for those who use the Easter season to remember and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord; it is so, especially for those of us who attempt to teach others about this blessed event. It has happened over fifty times since I started teaching the bible. Try to imagine how difficult it is to find fifty different ways to present the one and only truth about the resurrection. It is impossible since it happened only one time in all history; and it happened only in one way and the greatest story on earth is simply that our Lord and Savior is not dead in a grave somewhere here on earth, BUT HE IS ALIVE AND ABIDES IN HEAVEN WAITING THERE TO WELCOME US TO OUR ETERNAL HOME.

The history of the birth of Christ is only recorded in the gospels and then it is repeated or explained in a few other places in the New Testament. It does not take long to read all that has been inspirationally written about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dr. Luke was the best qualified to record this history and his account is probably used more than any other writer by those that enjoy renewing their mind and heart about this most important event in the lives of Christian people. Why do I say it was the most important event in the Christian story? Please allow me to explain my thinking regarding this matter.

I believe that Christ is the Son of God; was, is and will always be. He was there when the world and all other things were created—including you and me. That is most important. I believe that man sinned and needed a savior and that Christ gave up his place in Glory and came to earth as deity, and became man through the virgin birth to “seek and save lost people.” That was most important.

For the most of my Christian life I never dreamed that the time would ever come when it would be absolutely necessary for me to emphasize the fact that Christ was born to Mary, his mother, WHO HAD NEVER KNOWN A MAN—that is she was a virgin and had never had intercourse. She conceived our Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit who is man’s helper here on earth. He became man through his mother [a person; a human being] and he remained deity through the work of the Holy Spirit who is the third person in the God Head. And the bible plainly teaches, without any doubt, that the God Head is THREE PERSONS IN ONE…GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. Any teaching that denies this fact is a lie from the devil himself, delivered to readers by a man demon-possessed. The bible warns us not to believe any one that will “add to or take away one jot or tidal from God’s word

He lived for about thirty-three years, was rejected by his own people and murdered on the cross, on Golgotha’s Hill. He suffered as no other man ever has, and died to pay for the sins of all who will believe in Him. That is most important. He was buried in a borrowed grave, and arose on the third day, and later ascended back into heaven to establish a way, a road, a way for man to follow, marking or establishing the way for us to be united with the God-head in heaven after our death on earth.

Prior to his resurrection, there was no way, there was no road for us to travel to our final destination—HEAVEN. That is most important. Without the resurrection morning, and the empty grave, his birth, life and death would have been meaningless to man kind. He arose! He is our risen Lord. He is alive in Heaven now and intercedes for each one of us each moment of the day and night. NO OTHER PERSON WHO CLAIMED TO BE A GOD, OR WHO IS WORSHIPPED AS A GOD CAN MAKE THIS CLAIM. NONE!

The doubter may say it is impossible—maybe it is impossible for man—but CHRIST AROSE. How, and why? BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE AND ONIY TRUE GOD OF THIS UNIVESE. “It was very early in the morning and it was on the first day of the week that the women went to his tomb” to complete the customary preparation of His body for entombment. [The press for time at the end of his death had denied a proper procedure to be completed—and they were there to complete the preparation.] Maybe it could be compared to our placing flowers on a grave today—or marking the grave with a head stone.

Three women were named and possibly there were others who arrived and went into the tomb, a small room of solid rock with only the one outside door and they attested to the world that Christ was not there. He had arisen. The women were astounded and worried; and were shedding tears when at least two men approached them and assured them that he had risen. John’s gospel tells us that they were angles, but we know that angles often appear to us as people. My wife was recently in critical care for eighteen days, she knew nothing then, and now remembers nothing that happened while dozens of God’s angles looked in on her and ministered to her. Without the hand of God she would never have walked away from the hospital. Those angles [men] and the women attest that Christ was no longer in that tomb.

Abe Lincoln was president. He was shot to death. He was no longer present in government functions because he was placed in a tomb. Do you believe that? You were not there. You did not see it happen. You read about it either in old reports or in a history book both of which were written and attested to by men only, and their word was not inspired by god; that is, God did not tell them what to write. And you believe them—so why will anyone disbelieve the report of these women, these angles, and several thousand who saw him, touched him, and even ate with him afterwards. Luke and the other apostles were among the witnesses.

It may seem redundant to you but I must reemphasize the fact that as a young man growing up in Raft Creek Bottoms in Arkansas, I never [never] had the thought that any true blooded American would doubt God’s word—because His word is Truth. It literally breaks my heart when I find that some people who have grown up in this “God blessed America” will refuse to believe God’s word to his people—The Holy Bible is God’s truth revealed to man.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead in fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, He mad personal appearances to his followers after his resurrection, and promised to send his Holy Spirit back to them as their counselor and then ascended to the Father in Heaven. My dear friends, the gospel stands or falls on the reality that Christ arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. This statement simply means that if Christ is still in the tomb—we cannot believe anything else recorded in the bible. The truth is that a great number of qualified witnesses told the resurrection story with mixed initial reactions.

One specific example is recorded. In the interpreting of Scripture and the breaking of bread, Jesus revealed himself as the resurrected one to two disciples who were walking to Emmaus. One other example is recorded saying that the resurrected Jesus revealed himself as on with the physical ability to eat and as the one whose life, death, and resurrection fulfilled scripture. Finally, Jesus revealed himself as he ascended to heaven and the members of the early church worshipped and obeyed him.

· Jesus Christ is the risen Lord of the church.
· Resurrection faith differentiates followers of Jesus from all others.
· The life, death, resurrection and mission of Jesus Christ come directly from the expectations and teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures.
· Resurrection faith developed only after doubting disciples experienced the risen Lord, heard witnesses of the risen Christ, and were led by God to personally recognize the risen Christ.
· The church [all saved people compose the church] worship the risen Lord with joy and praise.
· It is difficult for me to understand how rabbits and died eggs have anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus.
· I can visualize a vase of blooming flowers [a dozen red roses] as symbols of the resurrection, because in the winter they are dead, and in the spring they are resurrected to new life and bloom beautifully.

Christmas 2008 - Luke 1

Luke may not have had a first row seat in the opening seen of the drama that brought Jesus Christ to our attention, but no other gospel character had as much exposure to the declaration of His coming, His life on earth, and His ascension into heaven. Paul was a learned man, physician by training, and close follower of Christ through personal dedication. Luke traveled extensively with Paul and watched first hand the church planting process as it progressed. He was able to discuss the events in the life of Christ with many different witnesses that had been with Him. Luke literally gave his life that you and I might know the ultimate truth about the Son of God; the Savior of the world, from His birth, all the way to eternity.

I do not know about the other members of our class, but one statement early in Luke intrigues me greatly. “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us—I too made up my mind to carry out a careful investigation of all things from the beginning and to write to you an orderly account of them, so that you might have a full and reliable account of the things in which you have been instructed.” He was telling his friend, Theophilus, and all of us who read his account that we can be sure that Christ Jesus is the Son of God, born of a Virgin girl that submitted her life to the will of the Holy Spirit.

Because Luke was a learned man, the biblical historians that have produced some of the best commentaries available agree that his writings are the best bit of Greek used by the writers of the New Testament. It seems significant to me that Luke was not satisfied with the other Gospels that had been written—and he had to write one of his own. Think about it; salvation is like that—it is a personal thing between you and Christ and no matter what anyone else has experienced—our own personal experience is the one that is important. Luke proclaims an inspired scripture. God’s inspiration comes when the seeking mind of man joins the revealing Spirit of God. His word is given freely—but only to those who seek for it. “Seek and you shall find Mat. 7:7—knock and the door will open.

Luke 1:5-25, a priest by the name of Zacharias is the central character in this scene. He was a descendant of Aaron and there by was automatically a priest. He was married to Elizabeth who was also a descendant of Aaron. They were old and had no children and that was a real problem in the Jewish culture. On the day when Zacharias was in charge of the Temple—he went in to the Holy of Holies and did not return as was the custom. His delay caused the people to believe that something special was happening—and then he returned with out the ability to speak. God had promised him a son and told him that he would remain speechless until the day he should declare the name of his son to be John. And so it was.

Chapter 1:26-38, when John the Baptist was six months old (still in the womb) the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth to Mary [a maiden] who was betrothed to a man called Joseph. He explained how the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that she would bear a child that would be the Son of God. For some reason, I have always been able to accept the fact that Christ is the son of God, and that he was born to Mary, who had never been with a man. However, there are several passages of scripture that have made me wonder just how this all took place.

I wonder why the genealogies listed in Luke 3:23-38; and in Matthew 1:1-17 both trace the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, which seems strange if Joseph was not the earthly father. In Luke 2:48, Jesus’ parents had lost him and returned to the temple to find him. Mary and Joseph are together and as they approached Jesus, his mother said “Your father and I have been looking for you.” It appears that she is saying that Joseph—your father—and I have been looking for you. In Matt. 13:55 and John 6:42, Jesus is referred to as Joseph’s son. And then I wonder why the rest of the New Testament does not mention the Virgin birth. In Galatians 4:4, Paul speaks about Jesus as one “born of a woman” but this would be a natural birth for any child.

It is necessary for us to know the meanings of the two words, betrothed and married which are similar but not the same. Jewish law required that a man and woman be betrothed for one year prior to marriage. It was a time for getting acquainted and was not consummated until after the marriage took place a year later. However, a betrothal could be dissolved only by the granting of a divorce which charged infidelity. If the man dies, according to Jewish law, he leaves “a virgin who is a widow.” So, we see that being betrothed to Joseph meant something more than just being engaged. Mary understood the law regarding abstinence during betrothal and was willing to face the consequences in order to do the will of God. We can understand the Godly nature of Joseph, who did not know the whole truth—but was willing to find a way to solve the problem without hurting Mary. Later God spoke to him—and he too believed.

Luke 1: 39-45, explains how a paradox can happen. A paradox is a statement that seems contrary to common sense but turns out to be true. There is no explanation as to why Mary went to Judah to visit Elisabeth and Zacharias. My guess is that she knew that if she stayed home, the gossip line would soon be open. She probably knew of the blessing that had come to Elizabeth in her old age and somewhat unbelievable to the normal mind. She felt that Elizabeth would understand and even believe her when she explained that she was with child but had never known a man. I can imagine how relieved they both were when Elizabeth recognized the presence of the Christ Child even as Mary spoke.

I had always thought that John The Baptist was the first man to recognize Christ as the Son of God that takes away the sin of the world at the time when Jesus approached him at the river for baptism. I see here in this passage that John was the first to recognize Him—but it was about thirty years before the Jordan River scene. John is a six-month old fetus, and has never heard Mary’s voice before—but as she greeted Elizabeth—John recognized Christ’s presence, and kicked his mother hard enough to get her attention and let her know that he was aware of the presence of Christ in the room.

Not only did John leap with joy in her womb, but Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit which caused her to pronounce a blessing on Mary among women and a blessing on the fruit of her womb—the embryonic Lord. This is perhaps the greatest example of the paradox of blessedness found anywhere in literature or life. Undoubtedly we will never know the joy and happiness of this woman when she learned from God that she was to be the mother of Christ. Maybe somewhat doubtful or just dumbfounded at first, but by this time she must fully realize that she is a virgin with child. What a great privilege it was for her to be chosen to be the mother of Christ. No greater blessing has ever been bestowed upon any person. And then from this greatest of all blessings—comes the arrow that pierced her heart! It meant that her life would never be normal again and that with in thirty-three years she would observe Him falsely accused, beaten and spit upon, and nailed to that old Rugged Cross.

Paul’s life was also a paradox. He was chosen by God, received crowns of joy and happiness in many ways but at the same time he had to continually bear his cross. The disciples where all chosen by Christ and from this call they felt happy and blessed but they were told that they would have to take up their cross in order to follow Him. Most of them were martyred. Do you know how they looked at the paradox? Paul answered this question when he said “to die for Christ is gain.”

God has no need for an unfruitful man—he may be saved but as by fire. The truth is that God has never called a man to him to wear a crown and rest and wait. He chooses a man in order to use him in his kingdom work. We must realize that when God chooses us it means at one and the same time that we will enjoy the crown of life but we may suffer our cross of sorrow, pain and rejection from our friends and the world.

Just for a change in the ending of this lesson I have read again the entire chapter and will try to summarize it in one paragraph.

Luke, a physician, and historian, not an apostle, but an avid follower of Christ tells us the story of how the angels announced the birth of both John The Baptist and Jesus Christ. He shows the hand of God at work in the temple and at the home of Zechariah. He enforces the truth of the virgin birth of Christ and leaves no doubt that it happened as told. He includes the prophecy of Zechariah regarding the work of his son John and of the Christ. And finally he emphasizes the blessedness placed on Mary as the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. I also see a great emphasis on the fact that God can use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary task—Elizabeth was too old and Mary was too young neither of the families appear to be the kind of people that would have been chosen for such an important job.

Share New Life - Luke 24:1-6, 36-49

Jesus willingly gave his life on The Old Rugged Cross and his life’s blood ran down the beam of the cross and spread as a blanket covering the ground where all of our sins lay at his feet—and those sins and all other sins that we will ever commit were hidden from his sight forever and will never again be held against us. Nothing else is more valuable to us—however; nothing else is more horrible than his excruciating pain that ended in his physical death there on the cross.

In my mind’s eye I can visualize many examples that picture the passion period as ugly, approaching darkness and imminent death. Leaves turn and then fall from the trees; fruit rots and fall to the ground. Sap, the life blood of trees and plants goes down into the roots and ground and even some animals hibernate through a cold, dark winter period.

Jesus was hurriedly placed in a borrowed tomb because the beginning of the Sabbath was approaching and Jewish law prevailed over the burial of his body. No labor was allowed on the day of the Sabbath. As the new week arrived, people resumed their life’s work. Even the apostles returned to the routine of their life. Then there were the ladies that had been closest to Christ, who felt that they should return to the grave site and complete the customary anointing process. It was as if ladies today would return to the grave site to rearrange the flowers and put the final touches on the decoration of the burial. The shocker that came should have been expected because many had been told that Christ would not remain in the tomb. It was empty!

Now, look at the comparison between his death and resurrection. In my mind’s eye I can visualize many things that picture the resurrection of our Lord as an event that is nothing less than the beautiful season we call spring time. I see the new life that blossoming forth; I know that the sap has started to rise and the new nourishment is something like a good breakfast in the early morning. The buds swell, the leaves start forming, and blossoms mature and fall away with nourishing fruit well on the way. There is no ugly in springtime—just as there is nothing more beautiful than our risen Savior. Nothing is more valuable to us than his resurrection and nothing is more beautiful than new life in the springtime.

It may be necessary for me to sound somewhat redundant but I must stop here to remind you that I am attempting to compare [if it is possible] the death of Christ that was for the remission of our sins to the resurrection of our Savior, on the third day, making our resurrection and ascension possible. Jesus was born one time; he died one time; he was resurrected one time and he lives one time—forever. How-ever the pictures of the reasons come back every year, at the same time—and on time just like a clock. I do not remember missing a single year out of the last sixty reminding others of these two most monumental of all events.

Carefully looking back causes one to think that biblical scholars and writers may have placed more emphasis on one event to the expense of the others. Let me add two more events…The Physical Birth and Earthly Life of Christ. The emphasis placed on the birth of Christ has been shifted to the field of commercialism. This has become so obvious that it causes one to grieve over the fact that Santa Clause is more popular throughout the Christmas season than our Savior.

Ask and answer this question. If we study carefully the major events in the life of Christ—is it possible for us to conclude that any one of the events is more important than any other?

• Christ was. God was. The Holy Spirit was. God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are. Do you believe this? Is there any thing else that is more important?

• Christ was born physically. So Christmas. Happy time. Important?

• Christ lived about 33 years and learned to be human and taught man how to be like Christ, a spiritual being. Do we profit from this picture of his earthly work?

• Christ died on the Cross paying the debt for our sins, which we could not do. Nothing can ever be more important to a lost person.

• Christ was buried like a man and arose as a spiritual being. Showed us how. We call it Easter. Without resurrection, his death means nothing.

• Christ remained on earth forty days—moved about as spirit, with no doors necessary but he communicated with mortal man proving his death by showing his scars. There were hundreds of witnesses. He commissioned his church and promised to send the Holy Spirit.


• He left earth by way of a cloud and ascended back into heaven…thus paving the way for our ascension. How will you be caught up?

There you have the seven [7] major events in the life of Christ. Seven [7] is God’s complete…perfect…number. Now what I have in mind is for you to tell me which of these events is the most important. There are a small number of the churches in the Protestant movement that place an extra-ordinary emphasis on the very narrow thought process that claims that ‘absolutely everything depends upon Christ and the Cross…and if you listen closely it even seems that the cross is emphasized more than Christ.’ I do not totally disagree with this; however, we can not say that there is a lesser importance in any other event in his life.

• Where would we be today if Christ had refused to give up his Holy Lordship in heaven for thirty-three years?

• Who would have written the New Testament if he had not selected the twelve?

• What worshipful body would we have if he had not established his church?

• How could we be saved if he had not died for us?

• How could we be sure that the dead in Christ will come forth from the grave without Easter?

• How could we know about our journey from the grave to heaven if he had not showed us the way? He Arose!

• How would we know that our room will be decorated and ready for us when we get there if he had not told us where he was going and what he would do?

It is Easter Sunday 2007, and I am glad that I can be satisfied and happy to tell you that this is one of the greatest days of celebration that has ever been. Christmas Day 2006, was just a few weeks ago. It reminded us that Christ gave up his home in Glory and was born as a babe in the manger to be our Savior. How could anything be more important? The olive branches carried down the isles of First Baptist last Sunday by our beautiful, innocent children reminded us that Christ rode the donkey into the city to start the horrible scene leading to his death on the cross. No other day in history was any more important.

The more I study the results of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—the more I realize that the story of his life is composed of many events or parts—none of which can be said to be less important than any other. My point here is found in your answer to the following question. What would his death on the cross have accomplished if he was still in that borrowed tomb…dead?