Please remain standing if you turn to John Chapter 20. I know we're in Matthew, but turn to John Chapter 20. And after this initial reading, I'll explain more. But we'll be looking in the coming weeks of the different gospel accounts of the resurrection and events surrounding it. And this morning, we'll focus near the end of our sermon on John chapter 20. So let me read verses 1 through 10 with the account of Peter and John coming to the tomb. John chapter 20, verses 1 through 10. Please hear the word of God. Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, and I will insert here that she's not alone. John doesn't mention any other women, but it's with the other women as well. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark. When she arrives there, it's light and she saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. And then 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 do not know where they have laid him. Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, who would be John, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb, and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around Jesus' head, which was not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also, and he saw and believed For as yet they did not know the scriptures that he must, Jesus must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. This is the word of God. May God, by his spirit, teach us and convict us according to his will this morning. You may be seated. The resurrection and the events surrounding the resurrection are significantly important. Yet the four gospel accounts of the resurrection and the events surrounding the resurrection are significantly different. And as a result, the resurrection itself and the events that we see around the resurrection can be overlooked, maybe not understood, even forgotten, because rather than try to piece together how they fit together and what they mean, we just maybe read them and we move on. So in the coming weeks, we plan to combine the four gospel accounts of the resurrection and events surrounding it to cover the main events on and after the resurrection. And we've seen Matthew, we've already read Matthew chapter 28 verses 1 through 15, where Matthew gives the account of several women. We think there's four or five or more if you combine the four gospels. And he gives the account of the woman who come to the tomb after they noticed that the stone was rolled away. And his emphasis is very small, but he emphasizes the interaction of the women, not Mary by herself, but the women with an angel. He only mentions one, but we find out that there's actually two. And he uniquely gives the account of how the Jewish leaders and the Roman leaders tried to guard the tomb with the stone and the watch and the seal, if you will, and it was in vain. Only he gives that account of the preparation to guard the tomb, but then the failure of it. And then Matthew basically cuts to the Great Commission with the last few verses of chapter 28. And the Great Commission itself is a commission given to the church. And it's huge and will be covered in some more detail later after we walk through some of these other events in the coming weeks. Now turn to Mark chapter 16, please. If you turn to Mark chapter 16, what does Mark do that's different than Matthew? Let's read a little bit of it. In Mark chapter 16, I think it helps to see how these things fit together. In Mark chapter 16 verse one, now when the Sabbath was passed, now notice he's mentioning it's not just Mary, but Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome. And we know from Luke and John there are other women still. They bought spices after Sabbath was over that they might come and anoint him on the next morning. And verse two, very early in the morning on the first day of the week, notice how that's emphasized. Something's changed with the Sabbath. It's now on a Sunday. They came to the tomb when the sun had risen. So now it's light. And they said to them among themselves, who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large. And by the way, at this point, we think this is where, this is how I think it fits together most. The women, which included Mary Magdalene, saw that, and they send Mary to go get the disciples. Tell them the stone has been rolled away. They haven't looked in yet. But that makes sense of how these four gospel accounts would fit together. So Mary go talk to the disciples and tell them. And she does not yet know that Christ is risen, nor do the women. And she goes and she finds Peter and John. And they're probably still in Jerusalem at this time. Meanwhile, verse three, I should say verse five, and entering the tomb in Mark 16, verse five, they saw a young man, this is the angel, clothed in a long white robe, and again, there's two, we find out, but we're just mentioning one now, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed, as we would too, but the angel said to them, do not be alarmed, you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, he is risen, he is not here. We know from Matthew, they say, as he said, And we know from Luke, Luke records that the angels say, remember when he said the son of man would be delivered into the hands of sinful men and crucified. But on the third day, he would rise again. So you put those things all together. He told you these things. See the place where they laid him. In other words, look in the tomb. He's not there, but go tell his disciples and Peter, which is interesting. Now Mark adds, he's telling the women, go tell Peter. We think that Peter was the main source for Mark's gospel and they had an association together. That he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him as he said to you. So in verse eight of Mark 16, so they went out quickly and fled from the tomb for they trembled and were amazed And they said nothing to anyone, and that means anyone except for the disciples when they met them, for they were afraid. Now you might notice that in Mark chapter 16, we have verses 9 through 20. Some of your translations will have, some might actually leave it out and have a footnote. Some will put it there with a footnote. But it's very likely that verses 9 through 20 are not part of the original writing of Mark. This was an edition later. And it seems to be pretty well attested. However, it does give us a good outline of most of the rest of the events around the resurrection story, if you will. It maybe adds some things that are a little bit harder to explain, like how it talks about baptism or the handling of poisonous snakes and things, but even those things, I think, if we know the rest of Scripture, it's not an issue. But we have to admit, the verses 9 through 20 are most likely not part of the original text of Scripture. But if we summarize what happens in verses 9 through 20, it really does give us a good outline, because what Mark, or at least what the book of Mark, is saying in these last verses, we see that he gives the account of Mary Magdalene and seeing the risen Lord, which is what we'll look at next week, starting with verse 11 of John chapter 20. And then he doesn't... talk about of Jesus appearing to the rest of the woman, which does happen. But he does actually then speak very briefly about Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. That's something that Luke uniquely expresses. He does say something briefly that Jesus then did appear to the rest of the disciples, which the other gospels speak of. He doesn't say anything about Thomas. Only John says that. He doesn't say anything about Jesus appearing at the Sea of Tiberias to talk to disciples and restore Peter, only John says that. But he does, whoever wrote the last part of the book of Mark, he does then mention the Great Commission, Christ ascends the right hand of God, and disciples go forth with the gospel. And if you're curious, in your bulletin there is an insert that outlines what I would assume the 14 main events surrounding the resurrection and how it seems to fit together the best. taking what others have said and trying to put it together. I think it's helpful to see how the four gospels fit together and how all the events work together. What you have in your bulletin is not inspired by the spirit of God, but it's the best I think we can do to see how it fits together. We know the scriptures are true, how they fit together. We might not get every little detail to get right, but I think that's the best way of seeing it. And so we see that Mark is to the point, adds more details about the event with the women and the angels together, tells us that the women were told to go tell Peter, which Mark and Peter were associates. And then you have those last, what, 12 verses that are likely added, but it gives a good outline, but not a lot of detail. If we look to Luke and how Luke presents the resurrection account, there are more historical details, which is probably the way Luke deals with a lot of things. And he actually puts forth the note, the women were meeting with two angels at the tomb. As long as one gospel doesn't say there's only one person there, we're OK. And we are. Luke adds that Peter ran to the tomb. Mark says, go tell him. Luke actually adds that Peter ran to the tomb. Then John gives the full story. And then Luke uniquely gives the account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And he records Jesus appearing to the rest of the disciples. And then he says, there's a great commission, there's an ascension, and the disciples go forth. And then we get to John's account, which actually gives the most detail. And even some accounts, events that aren't given elsewhere. And perhaps this is because John was more involved. He was there. He was a greater witness, perhaps because time had elapsed. John was the last gospel that was written. But John uniquely gives the account, the fullness of Peter and John coming to the tomb and looking in and pondering in one thing they believes. John uniquely gives the account of Jesus' appearance with Mary. We'll see that next week. It's a wonderful, wonderful story. John gives more details to Jesus' appearance to the rest of the disciples, including the unique account of him talking to Doubting Thomas. And John gives a whole chapter to Jesus appearing at the Sea of Tiberias and restoring Peter. I don't expect you to remember all that stuff, but it's good to see the background. You've got an outline in your bulletin. I apologize for this being very pedantic. This opening sermon on these events of the Resurrection will be that way. But I think it's good to see the whole picture. What we will see then in the coming weeks is we will mine from all four of the Gospels to teach of the importance of the Resurrection and the events surrounding the Resurrection. Today, we'll look at the not-so-empty tomb. Yes, Jesus' body was not in the tomb. But there were grave cloths in the empty tomb that actually tell us something about the nature and the first fruits of the resurrection, which will be the emphasis today. But in the coming weeks, we'll look at Jesus' appearance with Mary. We'll look at Jesus' appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. We'll look at Jesus' appearance to the rest of the disciples. And then Thomas, we'll look at Jesus' appearance to the fishing disciples at the Sea of Tiberias and the restoration of Peter. And then we will then look at Jesus' great commission to the church. in some detail and then certainly look at his ascension in the church going forth with what Jesus has called us to do. For today you'll see the outline in your bulletin of the empty tomb in the resurrection from John chapter 20 verses 1 through 10 and we'll very quickly look at the significance of the resurrection and then the evidence for the resurrection but then The hope is that we'll focus on the nature of the resurrection and the first fruit of the resurrection. Those last two points would be what I'd like you to come away from this sermon remembering. So the significance of the resurrection, and by the way, there's an insert in your bulletin that actually has an outline of what I'm about to say to give you something to keep attention, because I'd like to read what A.W. Pink has said about the significance of the resurrection. I do think we're very prone to emphasize the death of Christ, and we shouldn't. lessen the importance of the death of Christ. But I do fear that all of us, we don't emphasize the resurrection of Christ as it should be. And so we can't oversell the importance of the resurrection. And A.W. Pink says, and this was printed in your bulletin as well, that we cannot make too much of the death of Christ, but we can make too little of his resurrection. Our hearts and minds cannot meditate too frequently upon the cross. But in pondering the sufferings of the Savior, let us not forget the glories which followed because Calvary does not exhaust the gospel message. The Christian evangel is not only that Christ died for our sins, but also they rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. First Corinthians 15 says this. He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. Romans chapter four tells us this. Had Christ remained in the sepulcher, it had been the grave of all of our hopes. In other words, if he'd still be dead, our hopes would be dead. If Christ be not raised, said the apostle, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also in vain, 1 Corinthians 15. To be a witness of his resurrection was a fundamental qualification for an apostle, Acts chapter 1. That God raised up the one whom the Jews had crucified was a central truth pressed by Peter in his Pentecostal sermon, Acts chapter 2. The same fact was urged again by the apostles in Solomon's porch, Acts chapter 3, and before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 4 and 5. The foundation truth was proclaimed also to the Gentiles. We think of Acts chapter 10 with Cornelius, Acts chapter 13. The prominence of the resurrection of Christ in the epistles is too well known to acquire a quotation. In other words, you know this, I don't have to have any quotes for you. So three quick things for why is the resurrection significant. First, Jesus appealed to his resurrection the most as a proof of who he is. Do you realize that? Jesus appealed to his resurrection the most as a proof of who he is. When the angels spoke to the women at the tomb, they said, he's not here for he is risen. Just as he said, do you remember what he said? He'd be crucified and be raised on the third day. And three times as he's walking with the disciples to Jerusalem in the book of Matthew, he's saying, we're going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be put to death, but I'm going to be raised on the third day. John chapter two, he says, destroy this temple. In three days, I'll raise it up. And John chapter 10, he says, because I lay down my life, I may take it back up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it up. Jesus appeals to his resurrection the most as a proof of who he is. Number two, the resurrection is necessary for our salvation. And we've said that a lot over the last few weeks. We'll say it again. If you read in first Corinthians 15, If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, if we are found false witness of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he did not raise up. if in fact the dead did not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. We must have a Christ who physically died, but who physically arose from the dead, else we're dead in our sins. If Christ gave his life as a ransom, but his body is still held captive, then his death was not accepted as a ransom, and we're still in our sin. And if Christ is still enslaved to death, then so are we. And then lastly, and quickly, Christ did not show himself publicly after he rose. Does that bother you? Don't you wish that Christ would have been running around and said, look, I'm here. And wouldn't that have made things easier? There have been pictures and photographs and all sorts of things. Look, we know that he rose from the dead because we have this evidence. But Christ was crucified in public, but raised privately to friends and to select people. In Acts chapter 10, verses 40 and 41, when Peter is talking to Cornelius, the Roman centurion, Paul says, Jesus, God raised up on the third day and showed him openly. Not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God. It was purposeful that Jesus did not appear publicly to everyone. It's just like he didn't run through the streets saying, I am God, I'm Jehovah God. He did make it very clear that he is God. And Peter says, even to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. So the point is that Christ was crucified in public, but he was raised privately in a sense. Everybody could see him die, but he was raised privately and he showed himself to friends. The result of that is that now we, as his people, are given the privilege and the task to be sent to bring the glory of his resurrection to the world. It's important for us then to live the life of his resurrection with our resurrection life that he's given us and to proclaim his resurrection unto new life in sinners around us. He leaves that job to us to be his representatives. Let us not forget that. And so we see the importance of the resurrection. We saw in John that John says the tomb is in a garden. So Christ's body was sealed in a tomb in a garden, setting the stage for victory in this second garden to undo the result of the fall in the first garden, the Garden of Eden. In that first garden, the seed of sin was sowed for death. In this garden, the seed for life was planted. And he rose. And Matthew Henry says, here is the sun of righteousness set for a while. In the tomb to rise again in greater glory and set no more. Here lies a seeming captive to death, but a real conqueror over death. For here lies death slain and the grave conquered. Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory. That's the significance and the importance of the resurrection. And then very briefly, The evidence of the resurrection, and I'll make this very brief because we've been hitting this nail on the head and perhaps over and over and over again the last several weeks. But in previous sermons, we've already covered the abundant evidence for Jesus' resurrection. The scripture says this was what it would be. The prophecies of God said this and they're fulfilled in Christ. He had a real death. This was not a coma and he was resuscitated out of it later. It was a real death. Remember, his legs were not broken because he was already pronounced dead. His side was pierced. The soldiers who knew what they were doing confirmed he was dead. The disciples took the body, and they dressed it with 75 to 100 pounds of spices and aloe. This was a dead body. And the tomb was a new tomb. No other bodies were in it. And it was a known tomb. There's no confusion about where it was. We know all of this, and there's no confusion about whether his death was death or where the tomb was. And then the stone, the watch, and the seal was vain. that the large stone was not a problem, the watch of the Romans was not a problem, the seal of Rome on it was not a problem, the best that man could do could not keep him from being raised. But in John chapter 20 in verses 1 and through 10, which we just read, I think there's two other things that could be emphasized. Number one, And evidence for Christ's resurrection being true is that there was no expectation of Him even being raised by those who knew Him the best and loved Him the most. The disciples were not expecting a resurrection. Why buy all these expensive spices and hurry to come back on a Sunday morning and worry about, well, who's going to move the stone away? If you thought that our Lord was going to be raised from the dead. Why would Mary say to Peter and John, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb when I don't know where they laid him. She's assuming he's still dead and someone stole the body. There's no expectation. When, when Mary came to Peter and John, why didn't Peter and John say he's risen? And that's why they are running really fast to the tomb, but they didn't. And even though they looked in there pondering it, it should have been a quick tip off. That huge stone, and maybe the soldiers are still on the ground, but they're not there. But instead, they were skeptical. And so the fact that there's no expectation for a resurrection, in my mind, is a key component that the resurrection of Christ is perhaps the most detestable historical fact that we have. There's no reason to believe there's a hallucination or a hoax or wishful thinking by the disciples. But lastly, I think the not so empty tomb is a key evidence to the resurrection. This is how we're going to transfer to the nature and the first fruits of the resurrection. In John chapter 10, I should say 20, when they looked into the tomb, they saw something. It was not a body, but they saw something. They saw the grave claws and the handkerchief that was on his head. Neatly there, these claws were left behind and they are left in order, not scattered about. And remember, you have 75 to 100 pounds of aloe and myrrh and there's even spices added to that. If you remember back when we spoke about the barrel of Jesus, they would take strips of linen and piece by piece, they'd bind him around his arms and his legs and his body. He'd be like a mummy with perhaps 100 pounds of weight on the body. If a robber came to take the body, first of all, you'd think that they wouldn't worry about taking the grave cloths off of him. But if they would, you'd think there'd be a mess. There's just no way you can take off the grave cloths and the handkerchief without making a mess behind. But yet, the cloths were there. And it's not the work of Jesus coming out of a coma and then wrestling his way out. There's no way you could have this scene. So the idea that the grave cloths were there in order tells us that this is a true resurrection, and it leads us then to the nature and then the first fruits of the resurrection, which are the final two points this morning, the nature and the first fruits of the resurrection. The status of the linen cloths is a key element to all of this. This is evidence for the resurrection and evidence of the glorified nature of our Lord's resurrection. We've said that there were 75 to 100 pounds of spices Entombed around the body of Christ again bound like a mummy And what they would do is in this this head piece the handkerchief that Peter saw was the first one to see Would be something to be separately placed over the head If you remember when we spoke of Lazarus recently that when Lazarus came out and Jesus says Lazarus come forth and Jesus says Lose him because he was encased in the linen cloths and he couldn't get out. He could get out of the tomb because Jesus called him forth and gave him new life, if you will, but he needed help to get out of the linen cloths. And I think Jesus would be in a far worse situation because of the effusive dressing of his body by disciples who loved him dearly. He was really treated like a king with the way he was buried, with the amount of linen and the amount of spice So it's amazing that these linen cloths were in such decent order. So the question maybe is asked, what caused John and Peter to ponder and then to believe? Well, look at John chapter 20, look at verses 4 through 8, if you will. I'll even start at verse 3, that Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and they were going to the tomb. And in verse 4, so they ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And you can make a joke about Peter being pushy and boisterous, so he takes off. But he's older, maybe bigger, so John outruns him. And in verse 5, and he's stooping down and looking in, speaking about John. Remember, we said this was a tomb that was carved into a rock, and it would be down, so they're looking down into this tomb. It says he saw, and it's a Greek word for saw that means he just saw. He glanced and he saw it. He saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. So you have this picture of John looking down at it. Huh, there's linen cloths. Wasn't expecting that maybe, but he just saw them. But then you have pushy Peter, who in verse 6, then Simon Peter came, following him, and he went into the tomb. You can almost picture Peter shoving John out of the way. You have to grunt when you say that. And so he actually goes into the tomb, and he saw, and a different Greek word is used there, it's a word that we have related to theorizing. He's thinking about it, and he saw the linen cloths lying there, but since he's in the tomb, he also sees the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths. And the terminology for lying there, it means they're in order. It's not expected. It's not a mess. But the handkerchief is folded together in a place by itself. In other words, he's seeing something. Now he's thinking about, what is this? So you go from just glancing at it to actually seeing it and thinking about it. There must be something to this. And then the other disciple, verse 8, who came to the tomb first, went in also and he saw, now a third Greek word is used, and it's a word that means seeing with understanding. Not just trying to understand, but seeing with understanding. So John went in also and he saw and believed. So he's putting together, he sees the tomb is empty, but the grave cloths are there. The handkerchief is folded at the head of it, and honestly, the way the Greek is worded, it makes it sound like the grave cloths are there as if the body just went through the cloths and it's just left behind in order without any kind of a mess or disruption behind. And John sees that, and he believes. Now you notice the next verse, for as yet they did not know the scriptures, they should have, that he must rise again. Notice it's must rise again, against the significance of this, from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their homes. We assume they went back to Jerusalem where they were staying. But John saw enough to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. And later, Jesus will appear to the disciples and rebuke them kindly. Because if you look through the four gospel accounts, when Mary went, Peter and John didn't get it. When the women went to tell the disciples, they did not believe. The disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didn't believe. Thomas said, unless I see his hand, I put my faith. Nobody was believing this. And so when Jesus does come back to the disciples and appear to them, he shows them from the scriptures, this is why. And there's a rebuke in it, but I'm sure it's loving and kind, and they're rejoicing in the midst of it. But why is this so important with the grave cloths, which is what we're trying to focus on today? Well, it's not just that Christ had been resurrected, had been raised, but it's how he was resurrected that convinced John, and I think then Peter as well. The cloths were, in the very least, they were in order and the handkerchief was neatly folded, but it does seem like as if Jesus merely came to life And he passed through the clothes in his glorified body. Still a physical body, but 1 Corinthians 15 says it's a spiritual body that's raised. It's not the same as the body that was planted as a seed in the garden of a cemetery. And so Jesus came to life. If he had to like struggle out of these clothes, it would be a great struggle and there'd be messes everywhere. But the pictures of the cloths lying there in order. as if the body passed through him. I think that understanding is what had the profound effect on John, I think eventually Peter, and it should have a profound effect on us as well. That Jesus was raised with a glorified resurrection body, the same body but then came forth just as, if you're in Christ, will happen with us at our resurrection, at the resurrection when Christ comes. So we see here is the glorified nature of Christ's resurrection. Christ did not just come back to life as if he's resuscitated. He was now glorified as the God-man, because he's fully man, and he's the first one to be raised from the dead in this glorified state. The Lord Jesus was glorified. His resurrected body is from the old one. It's still physical, but now it's a spiritual body raised in corruption and raised immortal, 1 Corinthians 15 says, which is what we look forward to as well. There's a sense he's not the same person as he was before. He didn't look the same. You even see accounts where, we'll find as we move through this, people maybe should have recognized him, but they didn't. I think there's a lot of emotional aspects of that as well. He appears to have walked through a locked door later when he goes to talk with the disciples. He's now the resurrected, glorified, exalted Christ. And this is the Christ we worship today who is King, Judge, and Lord as our God, Man, Savior, but who's not like us, but he's like we will be with a glorified body. I almost sounded Mormon there. I'm going to be careful about that. We will indeed be raised if we're in Christ on the day of resurrection. And then our sinless soul will be united with a glorified body to be able to rejoice with our brethren and to worship Christ and to know him as he is and to be made like him for eternity. And what this means is that the stone was rolled away from the tomb, not for Jesus, but for us. Did Jesus need to have the stone rolled away for him to get out of the tomb? No. But the stoners moved so the disciples could look in and see that it was empty. It's as if the stoners rolled away to invite us to look in, and I would invite you to look into the empty tomb of Christ. It's not so empty because the grave cloths were there. It seems similar to as Christ's death tore the veil from the top to the bottom in the temple to invite sinners to come to God. Now we have access to God. Now Christ's life moved the stone away to invite sinners to come see him in his resurrection life. So we see the glorified nature of his resurrection, which then leads us to the last point for today, which is the first fruit of the resurrection. The first fruit of the resurrection. Christ is the first fruit of the resurrection. You might recognize that other people have been raised from the dead throughout scripture, but Christ is the first fruit of the resurrection. It's not only because he was raised from the dead, but it was because he was raised from the dead with a glorified resurrection body as the God-man. It's not only that as our first fruit we get to be raised as well, it's that we get to be raised in a similar glorified body, and that's the excitement that all Christians should have. In 1 Corinthians 15 verses 20 through 23, Paul writes, Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. It's a nice way of saying who have died. For since by man came death, that's Adam, by man, capital M, also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, and Conrad mentioned that in our confession reading today, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. That means all who are in Christ. But each one in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, the one who was raised to conquer death with a glorified body. Afterward, those who are Christ's at his coming. That's what we long for when our salvation is complete. Christ is the first fruit from the dead. That means he's first, and those who are in him will follow. Our souls are united with Christ so that when we die, our souls will go to be in his presence, even though our body is planted in the ground. But understand that we are body and soul. That's how we're meant to be. We're not Gnostics, and we're not going to be in heaven just floating around with wings and harps. We're meant to be soul and body. That's why death is such a terror, even as Christians. Natural it's a ripping of soul out of the body. We're meant to be soul and body So our souls are united with Christ and when we die our soul be in his presence at that time immediately But also our bodies are united with Christ said in the end Scripture says our body and soul be made sinless and joined together We'll have glorified bodies like Christ But that's not complete until the resurrection and Christ returns. And then, though, we'll be perfect in soul and body to be able to worship and fellowship and to live as we were meant to, but even greater than that. This nature of the resurrection, and now understanding the first fruit of the resurrection, should have a great impact on our lives. That Christ is our first fruit, the one who leads, that we will follow. This is what we have to look forward to. Death is not the end. And when we do die, we still await the return of Christ, that we might have a glorified body like His. Maybe it's old news, but it used to be that we'd talk about our best life now, because there's a popular book many years ago, Your Best Life Now that was marketed to Christians. Was that true? Are we looking for our best life now? Well, yes and no. We don't want to have a rotten life now. But what we have, if our best life is now, then 1 Corinthians 15 says we're doomed. This is not our best life forever now. We do want to make our best life that we have now with what God has given us, with what he's given us. We look forward to glory and to be with him in sinlessness. And we wait the completion of our soul and bodies being redeemed when Christ returns. So it's silly to talk about our best life now with that in mind, but. Our best life now while we're on this earth, while we are believers in the kingdom of Christ but living in Babylon, our best life now can only be known through salvation and obedience to Christ Jesus. The Christian life does bring joy now. even in the midst of suffering. And there's much suffering in this life, but the Christian only can have true joy. The Christian can be joyful and weep at the same time, because we have the best life you can have now as we look forward to even greater things when Christ returns. And part of having our best life now is that we have our hope of a sinless soul and body in heaven, and it's guaranteed. Christ has conquered death, and we shall follow him fully in the end. Suffering and death is real, but it's temporary. We can think of the saved thief on the cross. We said that a few weeks back. The thief who confessed Christ was saved on the cross. He's still most likely had his legs broken and had to suffer that excruciating pain and he still had to be put to death on the cross. But yet he had the greatest thing in spite of that, and he could deal with this suffering. Think of Romans chapter eight, for I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. That's the glory that will be revealed in us, that we'll be made like Christ when the sons of God come together, being made like Christ, we'll glorify Christ in the greatest way possible. And any kind of suffering and difficulties we have in this life will seem like nothing and in effect we'll rejoice because we'll understand why at that time. You might even turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I love the end of 2 Corinthians 4 and the beginning of 2 Corinthians 5. Well, the whole chapter 5 is good too, but... But in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul reminds us in verse 16 of 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Therefore do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing. And I know you might be 20 and think you're invincible and you look pretty good in the mirror, but 59 will come. Just look up to the podium and this is what you have to look forward to. That's okay. We have a problem with youth and age. We should embrace it. This is God's intention for us. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, let the inward man is being renewed day by day. That's the eternal aspect of our soul. Our inward man is being renewed day by day for our light affliction, which is but for a moment. We will have affliction and suffering in this life, but it's just for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Our God is a merciful, loving, kindness God. Conrad mentioned that in the scripture, in the confession reading, certainly our psalm, whatever our God ordains is right. The judge of the world always does right because of his nature and his character. So even the worst things that are happening in our lives are being used for our good and God's glory. And part of that is, it's for a moment, it's working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. It doesn't mean pie in the sky, ignore things of life and just be so heavenly minded and earthly good. It's not that at all. It's that these things actually work together. God is working in us inwardly, even through the outward difficulties, to make us more and more like Christ. And we rejoice in that. And then you go to 2 Corinthians 5, and I won't read all of it, I'd like to, but 2 Corinthians 5, at the beginning, it says that we groan. It sounds like Romans chapter 8. We groan. Desiring not just to be unclothed, we don't just want to get rid of this faulty body that needs hearing aids, and I won't go through all my problems and medical needs. But we don't just grow in desire to get rid of what our outward body is. We don't want to just be unclothed, but we want to be further clothed, Paul says, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. It means we don't just want to get rid of this rundown body that has scars and problems. We long for the day and the resurrection when our then sinless soul be then encased with a raised glorified body. And it's wonderfully put that mortality may be swallowed up in life. We now have an immortal glorified body like Christ's. Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God who also has given us the spirit as a guarantee. In other words, it's guaranteed that this will happen. The spirit of God is given to you and you cannot be let go by him or the son or the father. Isn't that great? Somebody smile or something. This is an engine that makes the Christian life go. This is what makes the heart sing for the Christian to know what's already guaranteed through Christ. And so 1 Corinthians 15 verse 37 tells us that our body is like a seed that is sown. It must die before it comes to new life with a glorified body. And so our physical bodies are like acorns turning into an oak tree. when Christ returns. Our physical bodies are like cocoons that turn into a butterfly, but that doesn't even capture the change when Christ returns. And if you're in Christ, you will be in his presence when you die, and you'll be awaiting a glorified body at his return. And it's glorious. So the question that's obvious is, why are we so obsessed with the youthfulness? Why are we so obsessed with our bodies and trying to do whatever we want? If we want to be ripped or whatever the word is, take care of it. It's your body. You should take care of it. You don't harm it. Take care of it. But we have so much emphasis on the external. Why are we so worried about keeping the cocoon looking good when there's a butterfly coming? If someone says to you, you don't look so good today, you say, amen, that means I must be closer to glory. Spurgeon once wrote to an aging, an aging Horatius Bonar, who we know some of his hymns that we sing, for a picture. It's interesting to think of Charles Spurgeon asking Horatius Bonar for a picture. And Bonar replied, who is an old man at this time, he said, if you had waited a little while, you would have had a much better likeness, for I soon will be like Jesus. In other words, if you wait longer, when Christ returns, there'll be a whole lot better picture of me and my resurrection body. Lazarus came out with grave clothes on because he would have to use them again. Lazarus would be back in grave clothes at some point. Christ left his grave clothes behind Never to be used because now he's raised with an immortal body. Death is conquered and he's our first fruit. So we too, if we're in Christ, we'll be like Christ. And when we die, we will be able to leave our grave clothes behind as well. So the nature and the first fruits of the resurrection is something that is wonderful. It's something that we as believers should cherish and think upon. And if you're outside of Christ, you have to understand without Christ, yes, you'll be part of the resurrection and your body will be raised as well. but your unsaved soul be raised and joined to now your raised body and you'll be cast into hell to suffer torment in body and soul because that's what we're meant to be for eternity. That's what the scripture teaches. So why not come to Christ and fall before his feet and have eternal life now and a soul changed now and the promise and the guarantee because the spirit is a down payment that there will be the resurrection where your body will be raised as well, and you'll be made perfect in that way for eternity. Let me close with a couple of scripture verses. It's the best way to close so you don't have to hear me ramble. 1 John 3, verses 2 and 3. These have to be some of your favorite verses in scripture. 1 John 3, verses 2 and 3. John says, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. You're saved now, you're a son of God now, but yet we don't know the full story, do we? But we know that when he is revealed, when Christ is revealed, when he returns, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. It's a hope that helps us even now. And then 1 Thessalonians 4, starting with verse 13. 1 Thessalonians 4, starting with verse 13. Paul tells the Thessalonians, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, those who have already died, lest you sorrow. As others who have no hope, they're worried, what about our brethren who've already passed away? What's their state? What's going to happen with them? For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and we do, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus, those who've died in Christ. They will be raised, and we know that they'll meet him in the air with their glorified bodies and come to the earth. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, That we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep, those already passed on. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. And then we who are alive at that time and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, with our resurrection bodies. to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. I think the thus means not just yay we'll be with the Lord, but we'll be with the Lord like him in his presence. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. Brother and sister, may these words bring you purity of life and comfort in this life as well. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for the significance of the resurrection. Please help us to understand this and to weigh that well, even with the death of Christ and the atonement that we have through that. We would have no atonement if he was still in the grave. But it's not just his resurrection. It's how he was raised, the nature of his resurrection, and him being the first fruits of the resurrection. I would pray, Lord, that we'd understand that fully. That this life is not all we have. In fact, it's a small pebble. Help us not to grasp onto the things of this world. and to worship and idolize the temporary things of this world or be so shaken by the difficulties and sufferings of this world and the persecution and the temptations that we depart from the greater things, the eternal things, the things that bring us the most joy, the things that glorify you. Instead, help us to grasp on to who Christ is and what he has done and when he was raised, His body was not the same. It was the same body, but was not the same. And it shows us then what awaits for us. Lord, you made us soul and body. You saved us soul and body. And our soul is changed. It will be made sinless when we die. And our body will be raised and glorified immortal. when Christ returns. May this hope help us to live in a pure, humble, loving, desiring to obey life in this world that our love for Christ and our love for you, O God, would grow all the more, that the love of Christ would compel us, but also may it be of great comfort to us and encouragement to us as we serve you and whatever you bring your way, whatever you ordain is right. but we know the rest of the story, and it's guaranteed, as guaranteed as the Spirit of God who lives in us. And Lord, we do pray for those who are outside of Christ, that today again would be the day of salvation for them. Lord, help them to see the judgment that awaits them because of their sin, but help them to see the goodness of God, and it would lead them to repentance and salvation today. It's in Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.