I invite you to turn to Mark chapter 16. And we will also be spending considerable time in John chapter 20 this morning. This morning we're going to take a one-week pause in our verse-by-verse exposition of the gospel according to John. Today, all over the world, the bodily resurrection of Jesus is celebrated by many. It's observed by others, ignored by still others. But the bodily resurrection of Jesus is as significant an event as has ever occurred in human history. This day has nothing to do with rabbits or Easter eggs or ancient pagan fertility rites. Jesus' resurrection meant that death, the ultimate point of the life of every human being, has been overcome by all men. It's important that we realize and understand and believe that Jesus' death and resurrection were part of and according to an eternal plan of the triune God. This wasn't something that just happened. Before Jesus went up to Jerusalem to offer Himself on the cross, remember He had, on at least three occasions, told His disciples, we're going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man is going to be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They're going to condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles who will scourge Him, mock Him, spit on Him, whip Him. and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up." Three times, at least, He told him that. And on a day in time that was appointed by God in eternity past, Jesus died on a cross just outside Jerusalem. And by His death on the cross, He cleansed all His people, being all who would believe in Him, of the guilt and stain of their sin. And he restored them to fellowship with God, opened the way for his people into the very presence of God. Mark tells us that as Jesus breathed His last, there were some women of Galilee who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem. I mean, there were these women who had followed Him along with the Twelve throughout His public ministry. And they'd followed Him to Jerusalem, they'd come with Him there, and they'd followed Him to the cross, and they remained near the cross with Jesus as He died. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph. Shalome, the mother of Apostles James and John. A woman named Joanna. And they stayed at the cross. Apostles were all somewhere else, scattered, except John, who seemed to have been nearer the cross than the rest of them. And after Jesus died, two men, both of whom were members of the Sanhedrin, who were secret disciples of Jesus, Joseph of Arimatheus and Nicodemus, they took Jesus' body down from the cross. They got permission from Pilate. And they lay Jesus' body in a tomb, which Joseph had hewn out of a rock. Now Matthew and Mark tell us that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were looking on to see where Jesus had been laid. Now Luke tells us, 23-56, after Jesus' body was laid in the tomb and before sunset on Friday when the Sabbath would begin, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee returned to where they were staying and they prepared spices and perfumes which they intended to take after the Sabbath ended, that would be Sunday morning, the first day of the week, to anoint Jesus' body. And so they rested down on the Sabbath according to their commandment. And all four evangelists tell us that these faithful women and their role as witnesses of Jesus' death and burial and resurrection was central to the whole story. Without them, our information is considerably less. And both Matthew and Mark tell us that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, were present throughout Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. And now, it's perhaps 36 hours after Jesus was placed in the tomb, as the sun was rising, a group of these same women came to the tomb. where they had seen Jesus' body buried. Now, remember, the fact that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had remained as Jesus' body was placed in the tomb explains how they knew where to go when Sunday morning came with their spices intending to anoint Jesus' body. So Mark 16, 1, when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Shalome brought spices so they might come and anoint him. Mark 16, 2, it was very early on the first day of the week. John says it when it was still dark. Matthew, as it was, began to dawn. Luke says that early dawn. They came to the tomb and arrived as the sun had risen. Now, all four use this phrase, the first day, on the first day. And this, of course, will become significant, as in the book of Acts we see in the early church, the first day becomes the day of rest and worship in the Christian church. That's a change from what had been the way, of course, of the sons of Jacob. Now these women were there when Joseph rolled that big stone in front of the tomb. So they knew that that stone was there blocking entrance to it. They didn't know that on Saturday, on the Sabbath, the Jewish rulers who were supposed to be resting and who were supposed to be the proponents and examples of keeping the law, went to Pilate and said, look, that stone isn't enough. We need you to put a seal around that stone and tomb. and have a guard placed there. And Pilate ordered those things be done. So the thing is, there was no way physically for these women to gain entry to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body because of the stone and the seal that they didn't know about yet. So they're saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? So we see the single-mindedness of these women. They're not sure how they're going to get into the tomb, but they're going anyway. They knew they wouldn't be able to move the stone, and yet they head to the tomb at the crack of dawn to anoint Jesus' body with their ointments. Just the women, by the way. Now, they evidently had either not requested the disciples, any of them, go with them, or they hadn't persuaded any of male disciples to go with them. They went alone. It didn't matter, because they arrived at the tomb, and Mark 16, 4, looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. Now, we don't know what they thought. The question is, who had rolled away the stone from the entrance to the tomb? Mark doesn't tell us. Neither does Luke. Neither does John. They tell us simply the stone had been rolled away. But Matthew, chapter 28, verse 2, tells us that a severe earthquake had occurred and that an angel of the Lord had come and rolled away the stone. that he sat upon it, that his appearance was like lightning, his clothing as white as snow, and that the guards who Pilate had placed there shook for fear of them and became like dead men. Guards are there passed out, the stones rolled away, the seals broken, and the women entered the tomb. And they don't see Jesus' body. They see a young man sitting at the right wearing a white robe. Now this is one of the angels. And Luke tells us there were actually two angels appearing in human form. And Luke fills in some more details here about the women's encounter with these angels in Luke chapter 24. Verse 3, When they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing. As the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the Living One among the dead? He's not here. He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again. He's not here. He is risen. Now Mark's account is brief, simple, and to the point in 16.6. He said to them, do not be amazed, this is the angel speaking, you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene who has been crucified. He has risen. He's not here. Look, here's the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter. I have to wonder why they mention Peter individually, but if we recall what had happened just two days earlier, perhaps that was the reason. you go tell them he's going ahead of you to Galilee there you will see him just as he told you and we may recall that after instituting the Lord's Supper in Mark 14 27 Jesus had said to them you will all fall away because it is written I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered but after I have been raised I will go ahead of you to Galilee and now the angel is reminding them of these words of our Lord So fear, amazement, astonishment, all gripped these women. And Mark tells us in verse 8, they went out, fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them, and they said nothing to anyone, and they were afraid. Now, we stop with Mark's account there, and Matthew's account picks up where Mark ends. Matthew tells us in chapter 28, verse 8, they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to his disciples. Now, I've tried to just imagine their astonishment and the joy that must have overcome them. You know, they never did anoint Jesus' body with the spices and the perfumes they had prepared. But again, let us recall, Mary of Bethany had anointed Jesus' body several days, maybe several weeks earlier, with a vial of costly perfume. And what had Jesus said? Leave her alone. She's anointed my body beforehand for burial. Now John's account is focused almost entirely on Mary Magdalene among the group of women. Magdalene is shown to be a devoted and faithful disciple of Jesus. As devoted a disciple of Jesus as we find in the Gospels. And she's a central figure regarding many of these events surrounding Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. So turning to John chapter 20, in verse 2, She ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have laid Him. Now that tells us she's not buying into the idea that he had risen yet. So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they're going to the tomb. They're running together. The other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and that, we believe, to be John. He got to the tomb first. He stooped and looked in. He saw linen wrappings lying there, but he didn't go in. And so Simon Peter also came following him. And of course, Peter, with his boldness, entered right into the tomb. And he saw the linen wrappings lying there. and the face cloth, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen wrappings. It was rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple, John again, who had first come to the tomb, then also entered, he saw and believed. So John's telling us in his testimony here that he believed at this point. At the same time, he then says that as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. So they went away to their own homes, to wherever they were staying in Jerusalem. Luke tells us Peter went away to his home marveling at what had happened. I'd love to just stop and let us pause for 10 minutes and try to imagine what this must have been like. But just think about it. He says he's going to rise. He's not there. They can't even begin yet to comprehend that he would rise back to life, even though what had just happened a few weeks earlier. Lazarus had been raised by Christ. And it's a remarkable thing. Upon finding the tomb empty, Peter, John, the rest of the 11 still did not understand. that Jesus had risen. Had to be convinced. So John then relates what appears to be the first of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, and it appears to be to Mary Magdalene. John 20, 11. Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping this is John and Peter have gone in and so as she wept She stooped and looked into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying and They said to her Woman, why are you weeping? She said they've taken away my lord. I don't know where they've laid him So even on finding the tomb empty, Mary was not yet persuaded that Jesus had risen. Verse 14, when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't know it was Jesus. Now clearly, he's taken on a different appearance, or her eyes had been kept from recognizing him. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? And John tells us she supposed him to be the gardener at the cemetery or the tomb site. And she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you've laid him and I'll take him away. And Jesus said to her, Mary, the voice of Jesus, the time will come when those will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live. Mary. She turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni, teacher. He said to her, Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brethren and tell them, I ascend to my Father and your Father and my God and your God. So Mary Magdalene came and announced to the disciples this news. I have seen the Lord. I've seen the Lord. and that he'd said these things to her. Luke tells us Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, and also the other women were with them, telling these things to the apostles. So here's a group of women who are part of this delegation telling the apostles. And what a privilege, though, to be the first to see and speak with the risen Savior. And still that same day, Luke recorded another appearance of the risen Christ. Luke 24, 13. I'm going to read a little bit from this, so if you want to turn. I'll begin in verse 13 of Luke 24. Two followers of Jesus, going that day to a village of Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, verse 15, while they were talking, the risen Christ approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And in verse 22, they told Jesus, some women among us amazed us when they were at the tomb in the early morning and did not find his body. They came saying they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. So these two men were apparently there when Mary and the other women had come to the eleven. And there were so these were other disciples who were there. And we can see they've all begun to kind of break up and go home. They didn't recognize Jesus here. In verse 29, they urged Him, saying, Stay with us. It's getting toward evening. The day's nearly over. So He went in to stay with them. They still don't know it's Christ. When He had reclined at the table with them, look what He does. He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, began giving it to them. And what happened? Their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, and He vanished from their sight. What a day this must have been. Verse 32, They said to one another, Were our hearts not burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us? You know, it's amazing here, by the way, that He vanished from their sight. I read something the other day where someone was questioning how he had entered the room, which we're going to read about shortly here in John. He vanished from their sight. His glorified body seems to have not been limited by the laws of space and time. So they say to one another, were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road, while he was explaining the Scriptures to us? And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon. So in between all of this, the Lord had made another appearance to Simon. They began to relate their experiences on the road and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. Now that evening, so they've come back to meet with the eleven again, gather with them. And now they're beginning to believe Jesus had risen. And we're told that Jesus then came and appeared to ten of the eleven and apparently these other men. But all but Thomas were there. And Jesus did not enter the room through a door. He just appeared. He appeared in their presence. So here we are, John 20, verse 19. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you. When he said this, he showed them both his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe. Some people are like that, you know. They're going to have to have Jesus come down here and walk into the room before they're going to believe. Such people need to cry out to God that He would open their heart to know the truth. or else they're destined for eternal misery and remain under His wrath. Well, Thomas wouldn't believe. After eight days, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them this time. And Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and He stood in their midst and said the same thing He said the first time, Peace be with you. And then he said to Thomas, reach here with your finger and see my hands. Reach here with your hand and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving, but believing. And then Thomas answered these well-known words. He said to Jesus, my Lord and my God, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed. These words that Jesus spoke to Thomas, those who believe in him and trust in his offering of himself on the cross for their sins and in his resurrection on the third day, are blessed. And what's that blessing? Paul tells us, Ephesians 1.3, it's every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. Nothing's left out of the blessings of God. And still, some will not believe and live a life that is essentially meaningless. Well, there's three questions I want to answer this morning. For Christians, they're not really hard questions. Did Jesus really rise on the third day? Two, was it really necessary for Him to die and then be raised back to life? And lastly, what do His death and resurrection mean for us? I'm going to start with the second question. Was it really necessary for Christ to die and then be raised back to life? We have to remember, if we're going to understand this, that when God created the first man, he gave him a garden paradise in which to live. And he gave him only one command. He said, you can eat from any tree in the garden, but from this one tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you may not eat. And if you do, you will surely die. The question was, would Adam submit to the authority of his creator? Or would he seek to be his own authority? when his wife fall for the lie of Satan that you could be just like God if you eat from this tree. So would the creature submit to or reject the authority of the Creator and Satan deceived Eve And both she and her husband ate from the forbidden tree. And Adam and all his descendants lost Paradise. When he was tossed out, all his descendants were tossed out as well. So we don't live there in Paradise right now because our great-great-grandfather lost it for us. He died two ways that day. He died spiritually, meaning that he and all his descendants were separated from God and would come into this world separated from God and under the wrath of God. And he and all his descendants would die a physical death. And there'd be no remedy for this unless God acted to rescue people from sin, death, and eternal misery. So Romans 5, 12, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned, verse 18, so then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men. You think that's not fair? God's not unfair. God's holy, and every sin against Him deserves death. And not only that, but Adam's sin against God corrupted him. It changed his very nature. He'd been created with no sin in him. But his rebellion against God left him stained with sin and prone to sin again. And all his descendants and all humanity have been corrupted by the same trait, with that same inclination to sin. And God, though He knew this from all eternity, desired a people for Himself. He desired to reconcile some of those who sinned against Him to Himself. People He had chosen in His Son before He created the world. Even though He knew we'd all become sinners. And yes, God's justice requires the punishment of all sin. It's just that those he has called to himself did not take our own punishment. He sent his son to do it. God desires fellowship with people, communion with people. And only God could bring about that reconciliation. There was nothing we could do about it. Genesis 3.15, after Adam's sin, God declared the ultimate defeat of Satan. The ultimate defeat of all evil. The ultimate defeat of death itself. That's what He said. You will bruise the seat of the woman on the heel, but He'll crush your head. God declared that a man, one born, not of the seat of a man, but the seat of a woman, would crush the head of the serpent. So what God declared in the garden that day, for those who believe, was an assurance that one day He would make a way for His people to come back into fellowship with Him. In paradise. We're not living in paradise now, we're living in a fallen world. The world that is the result of Adam's sin. But in his call of Abraham and his call of Moses, his raising up of the sons of Jacob, his deliverance of them from bondage in Egypt, his giving to them the land of Canaan, his bringing them into that land were all foreshadowings of the deliverance of his people in Christ from bondage to sin and death, and of his restoration to them, to paradise. In God's providence, and in His wisdom, and in His justice, four things had to occur. A man must be born, again, the seed not of a man, but of the seed of a woman. That man had to live in perfect obedience to the law of God. Third, he would have to offer himself on behalf of all those he came to save as a blood sacrifice to atone for their sins. Because God's justice required an atonement for those sins. And his atoning death would cleanse all his people of the guilt and stain of their sins. And he would have to overcome death, the wages of sin. reverse the damage that had been caused by Adam's sin. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the way that God accomplished that. This wasn't something that just came to his mind that week in Jerusalem. This was the eternal plan. Son of God became a man. He lived a sinless life. He died on a cross. And as he died on that cross, few, if any, realized what he was accomplishing that day. that he had suffered the penalty of sin for all those he had come to save. And as his body was laid in a tomb, where it remained until the third day, the first day of the week, he was raised back to life. He defeated death. So was Jesus really raised? I hope, I pray, nobody in this place has any doubt about this. But the fact is, there were many witnesses to the risen Christ. Witnesses who saw Him after He had died, who saw Him alive. First, of course, was Mary Magdalene, those women, and Simon, and those two men on the road to Emmaus, and then the eleven But here's what Paul tells us, 1 Corinthians 15, 5, that the risen Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Some had died. And then He appeared to James, and then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. He appeared to Peter. Now recall that after Jesus was arrested, on the night before he died, Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times. Now, just seven weeks later, after Jesus rose and had appeared to all the apostles, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, a completely changed Peter preached and testified to the people of Jerusalem. You might want to turn to the book of Acts. Chapter 2, we'll begin in verse 22. Here's Peter, the denier of Christ, three times. Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst. Just as you yourselves know, this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. But God raised him up again. putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. And look down at verse 32, God raised him up again, to which we are all witnesses. Acts 3, verse 15, he tells them, Again, the men of Israel. You put to death the prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. This is what they preach, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 4.1. as they were speaking to the people. The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them. Now here come the cops, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Acts 4.10, after God had healed a man lame from birth through the hand of Peter. Look what Peter says, Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name, this man stands here before you in good health. I want us to understand and know and realize and be reminded of how central the resurrection of Christ is to the whole of the New Testament. Acts 4.33, with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This is what they preached. An abundant grace was upon them all. One more from Acts, chapter 5, verse 30. Here's Peter and the apostles called before the Sanhedrin. I want them to stop preaching this. And Peter, who had denied Him three times, said that God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. At least eight of Paul's letters in the New Testament affirm the resurrection of Jesus. Romans 1.4. And I'm not going to ask you to turn to all these. He was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness. Jesus Christ our Lord. Galatians 1.1. Paul, an apostle, not sent from men or through the agency of men, But through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. Ephesians 1.20, Which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Philippians 3.10, That I may know Him in the power of His resurrection. Colossians 1.18, He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. 1 Thessalonians 1 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you, how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God and wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead. That is Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. His final letter. 2 Timothy 2.8, Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David. 1 Timothy 3.16, Paul tells us Christ was taken up in glory. As we've been reading this morning, the resurrection is affirmed in all four Gospels. All the New Testament, all of it, written after Jesus' death, speaks of Jesus not as dead, but as alive. 2 Corinthians 13, for example, for indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. Have no doubt, brethren. This is the gospel. This is the good news that saves us. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, has overcome death. Death is not the end of life. We will all die a bodily death, but we will all be raised bodily when He returns. And the resurrection of Jesus is the reason that death is not the end of life. That's what happened that day. Death was overcome for all humanity. Now, we've read the testimony of the apostles, but why should we believe them? Well, history records that those same apostles who scattered from Him the night He was taken into custody, who deserted Him when Judas and the mob came to murder Him, were later willing to die themselves rather than recant that they had seen Jesus alive after His death. One by one, all of these witnesses, except John, were executed for testifying of the resurrection of Jesus. Now we have early church histories contained in the writings of the early church historian, Eusebius, recorded in about 325 AD. And he tells us the apostles and disciples of the Savior scattered over the whole world, they preached the gospel everywhere. And we've seen the content of that gospel. Christ has risen. And Eusebius recorded what happened to them. James, the son of Zebedee, the brother of John, was beheaded in Jerusalem. Matthew was killed in Ethiopia by a sword. Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead. Luke was hanged from an olive tree in Greece. James, the just, our Lord's brother, and a leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the temple for refusing to deny his faith in Jesus, his brother. And when they discovered that he had survived the fall, they came up and clubbed him to death. Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael in John's gospel, was flayed to death by a whip in Armenia. Peter denied Jesus three times but was crucified upside down on an X-shaped cross rather than recant his testimony of the risen Christ. Peter's brother Andrew was crucified in Greece. Thomas stabbed to death with a spear in India. Jude, one of Jesus' four brothers, killed by Eros when he refused to deny his faith. Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace Judas, was stoned and then beheaded. Barnabas preached in Italy and Cyprus and was stoned to death at Salonica. Paul, of course, was tortured, then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero around 64 AD. And, you know, it wasn't just their deaths. In the 25 years before his execution, Paul, who had been a persecutor of the church when Christ called him on the road to Damascus, endured much persecution himself for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 11, 23, he recalls some of what he'd been through up to that point. Beaten times without number. Often in danger of death. Five times received from the Jews, 39 lashes. Three times beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times shipwrecked. A night and a day I've spent in the deep. I've been on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, from robbers, from my countrymen, from the Gentiles, from the city. Why did the apostles endure all these horrors and go to these martyrs' deaths? Why would they do that? They knew whether Jesus had risen or not. And they knew the truth. They knew the truth that Jesus had risen. They understood the significance of His being raised. They knew that meant eternal life in glory for them if they stood fast in the truth. And they wouldn't recant. To the praise of the glory of the grace of God, they would not recant. And no man, no man gives his life for what he knows to be a lie. You see, you can fly into a building when you're deluded and think that Allah is going to give you a nirvana with 72 virgins. They don't know. They're just hoping. These men knew whether they'd seen Christ or not. They stood for this truth that Jesus was raised from the dead, that we might live in glory with Him forever. And it's on this truth, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that this church has been built. This church writ large that's been here for 2,000 years. We gather on the first day of each week. Week, why? To celebrate the resurrection of Christ. That's why we're here on the first day. Because we believe all these things to be true. And I don't want to miss the faith, courage, and devotion of these women from Galilee who supported Jesus during His ministry, who had followed Him to Jerusalem where He would save us. And they, too, had become important witnesses of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection as far as the biblical record. They, and perhaps John, may have been the only witnesses of all three of those events. His death, his burial, and resurrection. And they could, and they did, later testify to all the facts of the redemption that was accomplished by Jesus. Finally, what does Christ's resurrection mean for us? Well, we've talked about it throughout our talk this morning. But have no doubt, our eternity rests on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15, 14, If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain, if He's not been raised. If Christ was not raised, we would have no reason to gather here. If Christ was not raised, then Christianity would just be another false religion. If Christ was not raised, we who believe would be living our whole lives on the basis of a lie. And we would have no hope beyond this life. 1 Corinthians 15, 17, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. Our faith, all that we believe, all that guides us in our walk in this life rests on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bodily resurrection of Christ is our assurance of eternal life, both in spirit and body. 1 Corinthians 15, 19, if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, if there's no resurrection of our bodies, we are of all men most to be pitied. But to the glory of God, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. Christians are not the most pitiable of all men. Believers in Christ are the most blessed of all men. Their sins have been forgiven and Christ is only the beginning of a harvest from the dead. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, all men will be raised from death. 1 Corinthians 15, 22, For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. When Christ returns, all humanity will be raised bodily from the tombs. All humanity will be brought before the one who rose from death back to life, who has been appointed to judge the world in righteousness. John 5 28 Jesus said do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth those who did the good to a resurrection of life those who committed the evil to a resurrection of judgment. Resurrection of Christ from the grave was confirmation from the Father that He accepted the offering of Jesus on the cross as the atonement for the sins of all who trust in that sacrifice. And this is the gospel. This is the good news that saves you if you truly believe. In this life, in this world, we face many challenges, many obstacles. The Bible, though, is about the issue of what can be done about the greatest problem we face, the greatest problem that faces all mankind, His sin. Jesus' cross and His resurrection is the answer to that question. And I don't want to close before mentioning this because there's a wonderful chapter. still to speak of in connection with the story of Jesus' resurrection and what it means to us. Because Jesus' death and resurrection accomplished for us not merely a return to the status, to the paradise that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden. In their world, sin was possible. Satan roamed around and sin happened. And mankind in them fell from fellowship with God. But for those who believe in Christ, in His atoning death, in His resurrection, and who hear the call of His invitation, and come to Him, and submit to His authority, They have an assurance of life in heavenly glory with our Creator in a place where there is no possibility of sin, of sadness, of mourning, or of death, where there won't be any sin or any sinners, where we will not have any inclination to sin, but we will be conformed to the image of our Savior. This is what Jesus of Nazareth, fully God and fully man, accomplished by his sinless life, his atoning death, and his glorious resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus was the victory of good over evil. Overcoming of darkness by the light of the world. Overcoming of Death with life. A victory of righteousness over sin and death. And it was absolutely necessary. It was the only way for any of us to be saved. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Lord, we stand in praise and worship of your glory and your grace. We, Lord, are awestruck to think that you would look upon we who have opposed you in such wicked and evil ways and rescue us, cleanse us, transform us through the work of your Son and your Spirit. Lord, we stand here acknowledging the suffering He endured that we might be reconciled to You. And we stand here in celebration of His victory over death as You raised Him from death back to life. And the assurance that we now have that we shall all be raised to life and the further assurance that we who believe can look forward to eternity with you in glory. In Christ's name, amen.