Well, thank you to our musicians for a wonderful
morning leading us in the worship of Jesus Christ
the risen King We intentionally take a little
extra time on Easter Sunday morning for this
celebration of music and I just take what's ever
left over of course that's not much different
than the other Sunday morning is it when you're
the last thing on the program you take whatever
you've got and This morning. I'm delighted to
share with you this wonderful music that praises
the risen King Jesus Christ. Thank you Paul and
all of your team. Let's open our Bibles together
please to John chapter 20. Those skeptics who
proposed that the resurrection story was a fabrication
of hopeful disciples. who were wishing for it
to be true, failed to deal honestly with the
historical record. The disciples did not anticipate
that Jesus would rise from the grave. They did
not even understand the statements that He made
to them in those two and a half years they walked
with Him, that He would rise from the grave.
They were not sitting there around the grave
waiting for him to come out on that Easter Sunday
morning. Indeed, they were secreted away in homes,
fearful, mourning, and weeping. Even the first
reports of his appearances fell upon largely
unbelieving ears and hardened hearts. They were
by no means eagerly waiting for Him to come forth
from the grave, they were not in any frame of
mind to concoct a story fabricating the resurrection
of their Lord. Indeed, the only satisfying explanation
for their dramatic transformation from disillusioned
disciples to a bold band of apostles is a factual
historical resurrection of their Lord. They became
thoroughly, unequivocally convinced that Jesus
actually rose from the grave. Scaffers through
the centuries have been unable to refute the
historical evidence of the resurrection, not
to mention the radical transformation in the
lives of his followers. the one who died on the
Friday before as the King of the Jews, after
three days showed himself alive as the King,
eternal and immortal. He rose again to reign
over his people, and one day to reign over his
world. John gives us one account of the Easter
Sunday events that we celebrate today. I'm going
to begin reading with verse 1 of John 20. Now
on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene
came early to the tomb while it was still dark
and saw the stone already taken away from the
tomb. And so she ran and came to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved. That
is John's way of referring to himself. He does
not call himself by name. He's the other disciple.
Okay? And she said to them, They have taken away
the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know
where they have laid him. Peter therefore went
forth, and the other disciple, and they were
going to the tomb, and the two were running together.
And the other disciple ran ahead faster than
Peter. John was considerably younger than Peter.
And he came to the tomb first, and stooping and
looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying
there, but he did not go in. When it says that
John saw them, it means that he looked in, and
he clearly saw the facts. That's all that it
means. But Simon Peter therefore also came, John
sort of rubs it in that Simon Peter got there
second, didn't he? Simon Peter got there after
a while, following him, notice that, and entered
the tomb and he beheld the linen wrappings lying
there. Now the word beheld here means that he
saw and closely observed. but he didn't really
connect things yet. He beheld the linen wrappings
lying there and the face cloth which had been
on his head not lying with the linen wrappings
but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other
disciple who had come first, there's John again
bragging about getting there first, to the tomb,
entered then also and he saw, now here's another
word, in the original language that means to
see and to perceive. It clicked with John. It
was just beginning to, but it clicked with him.
It connected what was taking place here. He saw
and it says he believed. For as yet they did
not understand the scripture that he must rise
again from the dead. So the disciples went away
again to their own homes. But Mary was standing
outside the tomb weeping. And so as she wept,
she stooped and looked into the tomb, and she
beheld two angels in white, sitting one at the
head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus
had been lying. They said to her, Woman, why
are you weeping? And she said, Because they have
taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they
have laid him. When she had said this she turned
around and beheld Jesus standing there and did
not know that it was Jesus and Jesus said to
her Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you
seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener she
said to him sir if you have carried him away
Tell me where you've laid him and I will take
him away Jesus said to her Mary. She turned and
said to him in Hebrew, Rabonai, which means teacher.
Jesus said to her, stop clinging to me, for I
have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to
my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father
and your Father, and my God and your God. Mary
Magdalene came announcing to the disciples, I
have seen the Lord. and that he had said these
things to her. Now when we put together what
Matthew, Mark, and Luke record regarding the
resurrection of Jesus, we arrive at a certain
order, a sequence of Jesus' appearances on this
first Easter Sunday. The first appearance of
Jesus was to Mary of Magdala. It's the appearance
that we've just read about. The very first one
that he appeared to was Mary. She was the one
out of whom he had cast seven demons, and she
had come to faith in him. She was standing at
the tomb, stooped down to look in, saw the angels,
and then she heard the voice behind her. She
didn't recognize that it was Jesus until he spoke
her name. And then the second appearance was
to the other women who were returning from the
tomb. with the angelic announcement that they
had heard that Jesus is not here. He has risen
from the dead. The third appearance of Jesus
was apparently to Simon Peter, an appearance
that Paul tells us about in 1 Corinthians. The
fourth appearance was to the two disciples on
the road to Emmaus as they were going home. You
remember Jesus walked with them and explained
to them how the Son of Man must be killed and
rise again from the dead. All of this time they
didn't know who he was until that time that they
gathered around the table and he broke the bread
and gave thanks for it. They recognized him and
he disappeared from their sight. And then finally
he appeared to the gathered disciples that Sunday
evening of the first Easter. Our conspicuous
claim is that King Jesus was dead. He was dead,
dead. You couldn't be more dead than Jesus was
on Friday afternoon. He was truly, actually,
literally dead, gone. His spirit was no longer
there. His body was left hanging on the tree.
Two of his disciples took it down. They wrapped
it up in the custom of the day. carried it to
the tomb of Joseph, where they put it in and
closed the tomb up. He was dead, really dead,
but King Jesus is alive today. Three days after
he died, really died, he truly, authentically,
genuinely, actually, historically rose from the
dead. And because of that, there are some things
that are different. Just a few things. The King
lives again, but with a different body. Jesus
was born in a fully human body of flesh and blood
and bones. That occurred through the incarnation
as He, the eternal Son of God, united Himself
with genuine humanity. He was born of the Virgin
Mary with a real body. He was a real baby, born
in Bethlehem, laid in the manger, the Christmas
story. When he died on the cross, he died in
a fully human body. He was fully and perfectly
man, who there took upon himself the sin of all
humanity and died. When he bore our sins on the
tree, he died in a truly physical human body.
And it was that body that was taken down and
buried put into the grave. On the first Easter
morning, when the disciples looked into that
tomb, that body was not there. That same body
that had been buried three days before was gone.
The grave clothes were undisturbed except that
being in a cocoon form they were slightly sunken
because his body was not within those wrappings
any longer. The cloth that had been placed over
his face was rolled up and away from it over
to the side. The body of Jesus was gone. That
same body was raised from the grave, but it was
a different sort of body than the one that was
buried. It was raised an immortal body, a glorified
body fitted for the spiritual dimension. It was
a physical body, yet now it was supernatural
as well. It was a material body, but it was not
limited to this material earth. In that body
Jesus was able to appear or to disappear miraculously.
It was a body that was recognizable. It still
bore the wounds of His crucifixion. In that body
He was able to eat, to drink, to speak to them.
They heard Him. They saw Him. They touched Him.
It was the very same body as the one that was
crucified on the cross, and yet, being raised,
it was wonderfully different. Wonderfully different.
Paul talks about this a bit in 1 Corinthians
15. Turn over there in your Bibles to that chapter.
called the chapter of the resurrection where
Paul is instructing the believers, instructing
us regarding the resurrection. There was a question
that was being asked apparently and Paul got
wind of the question. In verse 35 he repeats
it. He says, but someone will say, how are the
dead raised and with what kind of body do they
come? He says, you fool. You see, he had not
been to Dale Carnegie's course yet, had he? You
fool. That which you sow does not come to life
unless it dies. And that which you sow, you do
not sow the body which is to be but a bare grain,
perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives
it a body just as He wished, and to each of the
seeds a body of its own. Here he is comparing
the physical body to a seed that is placed into
the ground and They're like a seed It decays
but in that decay in a seed there's germination
and new life and new seeds are produced a new
stock and eventually new seeds Now he says the
resurrection body is something like that that
body the physical body is placed into the ground
But one day, that body's not going to be there
anymore. There's going to be a new body come
out of it. So it's not that God is going to create
a body over here and leave one in the grave.
That very body is going to come out of the grave,
but it's going to come out renewed. It's going
to come out different than the body that was
placed into the ground. He goes on to describe
different kinds of flesh and glories of different
bodies. But let me pick it up in verse 42. So
also is the resurrection of the dead. It, the
physical body, is sown a perishable body. It
is raised and imperishable. It is sown in dishonor.
It's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness.
It's raised in power. It's sown a natural body.
It's raised a spiritual body. And he reassures
us that if there is a natural body, there is
also a spiritual body. So also it is written,
the first man Adam became a living soul. The
last Adam, that's Jesus, became a life -giving
spirit. However, the spiritual is not first,
but the natural, then the spiritual. It was the
first Adam who came first in the Garden of Eden.
And then it was the second Adam, the last Adam,
the Lord Jesus from heaven who came. So he says
the first body we have is like the first Adam.
It's natural. But the next body that we'll have
is like the body of Jesus, the Lord from heaven.
The first man, he says, verse 47, is from the
earth. It's earthy. The second man is from heaven.
Also is the earthy. So as is the earthy, so also
are those who are earthy. and as the heavenly,
so also those who are heavenly. And just as we
have borne the image of the earthy, we shall
also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say
this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit
the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery,
we shall all, we shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling
of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will
sound, the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we, that's the living, shall be changed."
What is Paul saying here? He is saying that this
mortal, natural, weak, perishable body that we
live in now. cannot inherit God's kingdom. We
can't go there in this body. This body will never
get us out of this world. It's just made for
this world. It will have to be changed some way,
and that's what Paul is talking about. He says
that our bodies, through that change, will become
like Jesus' body. In one sense it'll be the same
body because we will still be identifiable. We
will still be us. Hopefully we'll look a little
better in some respects. But it will still be
genuinely us, these bodies, but raised differently
in a new order like Christ's. So when you and
I read that The king lives again, but with a
new body it means something. Because it means
someday we're going to have a body like his.
Some of us on this Easter Sunday reflect on the
fact that we have loved ones who have gone to
be with the Lord. We have laid their bodies,
their natural bodies in the grave. Because the
king lives again, someday, those graves are going
to open up. And those bodies are going to come
out not identical to the way they went in, supernatural,
heavenly, glorious, spiritual, but real bodies
will come forth from the grave. And it says that
those of us who are alive on that day when the
Savior comes to take us to Himself, when the
trumpet blows, we too will be changed. We will
get our new bodies without passing through the
grave on the way there. But these natural, weak,
earthy bodies will be transformed in an instant.
And we'll have the new body and be with the Lord.
So on this Easter Sunday, we rejoice that the
King lives again. But he lives again with a new
body. the kind of a body that all of us who love
Him and trust Him will one day enjoy. It's the
kind of a body that we see in John chapter 20
when later Jesus appears in their midst. Just
appears. The doors are locked. He just is there.
Suddenly He appears. Miraculously He appears
in their midst. But it's the same body that Mary
was able to reach out and touch and cling to.
Well the king lives again, but with a new body,
but secondly we see here something else that's
different He has a new relationship Jesus has
been the Lord of Mary and of the others all during
his earthly ministry But now something's different.
Oh, he's still the Lord He's still the Lord of
Mary and all of the Apostles, but there's a new
relationship that is now established Up till
this time, Jesus has been physically present
with His disciples. Now, whether they were up
in Galilee, or they were walking along the Jordan
River, or they were at the Upper Room at the
Last Supper, He was there with them. Now, He's
not going to be there anymore. He says to Mary,
stop clinging to Me, Mary. I must ascend to the
Father. Jesus was going away. Something was going
to be different. Before it was a relationship
on this earth. Now there's a different relationship
and there's a real advantage to it. Some people
say, well why didn't Jesus just stay in the world?
The answer to that is that if Jesus had stayed
in the world he could only be at one place at
a time. He might be here for the first service
on one Easter Sunday, but he can never be here
again because there's so many other churches
that would want him to come as a special guest
on Easter Sunday. So he'd have to be all over
the place, you see. The advantage of his going
away to heaven is that now he can be with all
of us all the time everywhere as our Lord. He
is in heaven, but He came by His Spirit to indwell
us. He said, I will never leave you. He said,
I will not leave you as orphans. I will come
to you. So because He went back to heaven, He's
with all of us all the time. We have a new relationship
with Him in that sense, and so do the apostles.
Forty days later, He was going back to heaven.
He was leaving them and yet he was going to come
and be with them all and unto the end of the
age. But there's something more here that I see
in what happened in this conversation with Mary.
Not only does he have a new presence with them,
but he has a new family relationship with his
own. Before Jesus had said to them, he called
them apostles. He said, you're my servants. Just
a few days before this he said, you're no longer
my servants, you're my friends. Now notice what
he says in verse 17. Go to my brethren and say
to them, I ascend to my father and your father
and my God and your God. What Jesus is telling
Mary is that he has a new relationship now with
his own. No longer are we even friends, we're
family. We are family. He says go to my brothers
My God is their God my father is your father
he says What a wonderful new relationship that
we have and Paul says in Romans chapter 8 because
of this relationship We are heirs with Christ
We're part of his family. We're his brothers,
and we are going to share His inheritance. And
by the way, that's merely everything. That's
all it is, just everything. And He says He's
going to share it with us because we are family
with Him. We are privileged to call God our Father.
Now Jesus has a unique relationship with the
Father. But he has introduced us to a relationship
also so that we can genuinely call God our Father.
We are God's royal family. We are the royal family
of the new order that's coming. The order of
the things that will be in the next stage. And
we are privileged to be part of the royal family.
ordinary people like most of us. And God has
called us to be His children, to be part of His
family. Do you know the King that way? Can you
call God your Father? Have you been born into
His family? You know, we aren't Christians just
because we go to church a few times a year or
because we've undergone some sort of ordinance
or ritual. Christians are Christians because
of a relationship. A relationship with God whereby
we can call Him Father. Because we've been born
into His family. And we're born into His family
through faith. By believing and trusting in Him.
But as many as received Him, Jesus Christ, to
them He gave the right to be called the children
of God, even to those who believe in His name.
Have you believed in Jesus Christ in that saving
way? Have you received Him into your life to
be your Lord and Savior? If not, how about today?
Because God wants you to know this special family
relationship that belongs to all of those who
are Jesus Brothers. And He wants you to have
the hope of the resurrection so that if you would
die, you would know that one day you were going
to stand in that body once again before God and
be invited to enter into His kingdom and to reign
with Him. You can have that hope today if you
will trust Him. There was a church in Grand Rapids,
Michigan some years ago that put up a sign on
Easter Sunday And it said on the sign, our God
is alive, sorry about yours. That sounds a little
braggadocious, doesn't it? And yet I understand
what they meant because there are so many who
worship dead gods and even claim to be followers
of Jesus Christ, but the religion is empty. It's
dead. We're talking about a living Savior, a
King who is alive again. We're talking about
a relationship with Him. Is your God alive today?
The God that you truly serve and worship? Jesus
Christ is not the I was. He is the I am. He is
the one who was truly dead but who three days
later truly rose from the grave. He is the King
who gave his life as a ransom for all people.
He is the King who lives again to save all of
those who will come in faith to Him. Will you
come that way this morning? And if you have,
will you let the joy of the Lord fill your heart
about who He is and who you are in Him? Will
you recognize that you're part of His family?
Will you rejoice in His kingship recognizing
that that means that you're part of what it means
to reign in the kingdom? You're going to reign
with Christ? Will you allow your heart to be
filled with the joy of knowing that someday this
earthly physical part of you is going to be changed
to be like His body? Let's pray together. If
you're here today without the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior, would you open your heart right
now before you go? Would you recognize your need
of Him? He came in the world to save sinners.
If you understand that you're a sinner, and your
heart is broken over that, and you bear this
morning the load of your guilt, Know that Jesus
Christ has borne that load that you might not
carry it anymore. You may come to Him right now
and receive Him into your heart, into your life
as an act of faith. Will you do that? And if
you're a Christian, if you have trusted Christ,
is the joy of the Lord in your heart today? The
joy of the resurrection? Do you know who you
are? Are you living like it? If not, will you
come to Him on this Easter Sunday and say, Lord
Jesus, my heart is filled with doubt like those
disciples. My heart is even hardened like theirs.
But I recognize that you rose from the dead and
I come in fresh dedication of my heart and life
to you. on this Easter Sunday. Oh friend, how
He would delight in your coming to Him that way
this day. Father, I pray that all of us will
respond to you this morning in such a way that
as we leave here, we will not only be able to
sing that you're the King, but we will experience
that in our own hearts. You'll be in control
on the throne of our lives and we'll be off We
pray that you will speak to the friends here
without Jesus May they at this moment trust him
and Father as we go from here may all of us go
in the joy of the Lord Rejoicing that you are
the King who came and died and rose again and
who's coming again soon And may that joy fill
our hearts this Easter In Jesus name Amen, we're
going to sing together number 228 rejoice the
Lord is king We're going to sing verses 2 3 and
4 All right number 228