Well, good morning again. If I haven't spoken to you good morning for the first time. Welcome to South Baptist Church. If you have your Bibles, you can turn back to what we've already heard, 1 Corinthians 15. And as you're turning there, I want to go ahead and let you know, or at least for those of you who were here Friday, that this sermon's gonna be similar to the one that I delivered on Good Friday. My intention is to bring several passages of Scripture together to form somewhat of a timeline of events as they occurred in history. And so I'm going to be jumping around to different passages for the majority of the sermon, but We'll land back at 1 Corinthians 15 at the end, so it may be just easier if you just stay there. That said, last Sunday, we kicked off our series on Holy Week by considering the Messianic King's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And on Friday, we considered the just wrath of God, which Jesus bore on behalf of his people, as a propitiation for our sins. We left off in the narrative at Friday of Holy Week. Jesus was dead. He was truly dead. There was no swoon theory. He was truly dead. He was buried. His tomb was sealed with Roman soldiers there to guard it should anyone attempt to steal the body in order to falsely make it seem as if he had risen. The disciples of Christ were distraught, having their hopes that this was the Messianic son of David crushed. Now that Jesus was dead, they feared that the Jews may turn their wrath to them. Jesus was already dead, so the best that they could do was crush his followers now. So in fear, they hid themselves as they mourned. To them it seemed that all was lost. Now, we ourselves have the benefit of hindsight. We have the benefit of the New Testament. But imagine how they must have felt that Saturday. Everything was gone. Everything they had worked for, everything they had hoped for, just like that, it was gone. Now what? Scripture says, now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and we know from the other gospel accounts that Salome and Joanna and others were with these as well, these came to look at the grave. They bought spices so that they might come and anoint him. Very early on the first day of the week, which by the way is why we celebrate the Lord's Day on the first day of the week, just an aside. They came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. In fact, Luke and John's accounts show that there were actually two angels, two witnesses, establishing the truth of that to which they were soon to testify. Now the stone was rolled away, not that someone could get out. Jesus didn't need help getting out. Rather, it was rolled away so that witnesses could get in to see for themselves what had taken place. These angels' appearance was like lightning, and their clothes as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of them and became like dead men." Now, you need to keep in mind, as we consider this, that those guarding the tomb were not just a bunch of These guards were soldiers in the most powerful military force known to man up to that point in history. These guards were trained killing machines, so to speak. You would not want to be messing with these guys. But at the mere sight of one among the heavenly hosts, they trembled and fainted from fear. their response was quite appropriate. As we have seen, the angels caused an earthquake when they rolled away the stone. This was not a simple, okay guys, now all hands on deck and everybody push. It wasn't like that, no. This was enough force that it caused the ground to shake. And probably not just there, probably for miles around. The angels rendered the Roman guard so ineffective that only Matthew mentions them in his gospel. One gospel account. And even that seems to be more for the fact that they helped to spread lies about what happened afterward. You see, the fact that they had failed in their mission meant that they were to receive capital punishment. So of course they helped spread the lie. Their lives depended on spreading the lie. But in terms of force, they were essentially a non-factor. So the women found the stone, rolled away from the tomb. Well, this was unsettling. Just when it was thought that it couldn't get any worse, now it seems that somebody has come and desecrated Jesus' tomb and taken His body away. It wasn't enough that they beat Him. It wasn't enough that they mocked Him. It wasn't enough that they publicly shamed Him and killed Him. No, they hated Him so much, now we have to come and we have to roll the tomb away and now we have to desecrate the dead body. Or so it was thought. So Mary Magdalene split off from the other women, and she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved. And we know this is a reference to the apostle John. 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. So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. And while we are not explicitly given this information in scripture, It seems plausible, based on what we do have, that Peter and John were probably at a separate location from the other disciples. You see, these were the two that were brave enough to actually go after he was arrested. Now, yes, Peter cowered in fear later, but at least he was there to cower in fear. The others, we have no account that they were even present whatsoever. And so, it's plausible to think that they were there alone, the two of them. Nevertheless, they're running to the tomb. Meanwhile, back at the tomb, The remaining women entered it, presumably to verify what Mary Magdalene had assumed. 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." Now this is an important detail. As according to biblical law, two or more witnesses established truth. You cannot prosecute someone on the basis of one witness alone. You cannot establish that anything is a true event on the basis of one witness alone, according to biblical law. And so there were two witnesses, two angels. 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 is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Behold, I have told you And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to his disciples. And as the women were making their way to the other disciples, Peter and John were running together. And John ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. And stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb, and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the facecloth which had been on his head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So John, who had first come to the tomb, then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes." Peter seems to be perplexed. John seems to believe. Makes sense. John's the one that was there to the bitter end. Peter abandoned him. Apparently Mary Magdalene had run back to the tomb behind Peter and John, as she was present when they departed from the empty tomb. Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping, 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, Why are you weeping? She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. And as far as we know, that was the end of the conversation between the angels and Mary. Not even angels were able to comfort Mary. She was so distraught. Think about that. Normally, when we see an appearance of angels, There's great fear, there's great terror, there's great reverence. Mary was so distraught at the loss of the Lord, she doesn't seem to display any of this. She was already in such distress. So the angels answered her not a word. And when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Now, do not miss this next detail. I can remember how excited I was when I was taught the significance of it. I would read over this, I don't know how many times I read over this, countless times, and just missed it. How significant this next detail was. Supposing him to be the gardener. Let's just pause for a moment. Why do you suppose she would mistake him specifically for the gardener? Why the gardener? Well, perhaps, just a suggestion, perhaps it was the case that the first thing he did after his resurrection A resurrection which constituted him the head of glorified humanity, the firstborn from the dead, and a life-giving spirit in whom is abundant life. The first thing that the last Adam did after his resurrection from death, he got to work tending the garden. He got to work taking dominion as had been commanded to mankind in the beginning, the head of this new humanity. There's your motivation for kingdom work. King Jesus was raised from the dead and immediately he got to work. Anyway, that was just a little aside. Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. Mary was grasping for straws here. Why would the gardener take away the body of all people? Why would the gardener do that? The theory that the Romans had relocated the body, or even the Jews who were actually in league with the Romans, seems much more plausible. The gardener? But this now brings us to the moment when, in terms of our knowledge as humanity, Everything would change. Everything would change for Mary. Everything would change for all of humanity. And everything would change especially for the church. The followers of Christ. This was the moment of the first witness. Mary quite clearly loved Jesus as his followers should. She was there for his death. She was there for the burial of his body. And now her heart's desire was only that she could find the body of her Lord to ensure that it was treated with the utmost dignity and care. Jesus had saved Mary from complete demonic possession. She had seven demons, seven being a number of completeness. and she loved him and would go with him to the end, whatever that meant. Knowing all this to be true, and moved with love for Mary, Jesus, the great shepherd, who knows all his sheep by name, said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him, in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. When the great shepherd called her name, Mary knew his voice, and she acknowledged him as her master. Mary must have been overcome with great joy. Everything was lost. She was at the depths of despair. And now, in a moment, all of that turned into the greatest joy. As she went to embrace him, 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. These are covenant blessings given to us in Christ. What does the prophet Jeremiah hold up as the chief blessing of the new covenant? He writes that Yahweh says, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Sweet, blessed communion with the triune God. There it is. And remember, Christ's ascension was to the throne of grace at the right hand of the Father, where He reigns and intercedes for us now and forever. Mary Magdalene obediently came, announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons, and her response shows the love and submission, the joy that we should have for our risen Lord. Now you will recall the group of women from whom Mary Magdalene had broken away. where they were on the way to tell the disciples, the other disciples, the message given them by the angels, that the Lord had risen. And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. Again, These women were devout followers of Jesus. Most, if not all of them, had remained faithful to him to the bitter end. They were present for his death and his burial, just like Mary Magdalene. Yet their response to the risen Lord's appearance was quite different than Mary's. Whereas Mary clung to him, this group of women bowed at his feet in a gesture of total submission And they offered to him what should be offered only to God. They worshipped him. When he was tempted by the devil at the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus himself affirmed what scripture says. You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Only. Yet here we see that he did not rebuke the women for worshipping him. Rather, he accepted their worship and he sought to comfort them. And then he gave them a similar mission to that of Mary Magdalene. Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and take word to my brethren to leave for Galilee. And there they will see me. The women obeyed the Lord, just like Mary Magdalene. Apparently, at some point that day, all the apostles minus Thomas were gathered together in the same place. So the women made their report. Multiple women, multiple witnesses. But these words appeared to the apostles as nonsense, and they would not believe them. This, despite the fact that Jesus had taught them beforehand that all the things being reported to them by the women now were going to take place. Two details emerge here which testify to the authenticity of the gospel accounts of the resurrection. First, if this story was one that was made up by the apostles and then advanced by their followers, wouldn't you think they would have tried to make themselves look better than this? The apostles show themselves to be exactly what Jesus later would say of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Oh, foolish men and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Likewise, and secondly, the fact that women were the first to see the risen Lord and the first to bear testimony to His resurrection shows that these accounts were not fabricated. And you may be asking, well, how does that show that? Well, as J.P. Moreland of the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University has written, quote, in first century Judaism, a woman's testimony was virtually worthless. A woman was not allowed to give testimony in a court of law except on rare occasions. No one would have invented a story and made women the first witnesses to the empty tomb. The presence of women was an embarrassment. This probably explains why the women are not mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15 and the speeches and acts, since these speeches were evangelistic. There was no reason to include in evangelistic messages an incidental detail which would cause the audience to stumble and not deal with the main point. The fact is included in the Gospels because the Gospels are attempting to describe what actually happened. No other explanation can adequately account for the inclusion of this fact." Don't shoot the messenger. I'm not saying, I'm not condoning it, I'm not saying they were right for having this attitude, but they did. So the women were generally not believed by the apostles and the other disciples. Now following the women's report, it seems Jesus appeared to Peter privately. We're not told anything about this encounter other than that it happened. That's it. We know it happened. That's all. Both the testimony of the two disciples from the journey on the road to Emmaus and then later the Apostle Paul state that Christ appeared to Peter first. That is, he was the first man to see the risen Lord. Since Scripture does not tell us anything more, I have nothing further to say on the matter either, except that it seems significant in light of the fact that Peter thrice denied Him, but then was later fully restored. One of the lessons I think we should take away from Peter is well stated in our Confession of Faith, and I'm going to quote that. It says, even though many storms and floods arise and beat against them, yet these things will never be able to move the elect from the foundation and rock to which they are anchored by faith. "...the felt sight of the light and love of God may be clouded and obscured from them for a time through their unbelief and the temptations of Satan." Just pause for a moment. Would that not have described Peter? He thrice denied him and his eyes met with Jesus and he was crushed because he knew he had betrayed the one he loved the most. Now, it must have been terrible for the disciples on that Sabbath, that Saturday, as Jesus was in the grave, but it must have been most terrible for Peter. Not only did he deny Jesus by his actions, he verbally did it. I don't know him. How dare you say that? Our confession continues, though. Yet, God is still the same. They will certainly be kept by the power of God for salvation, where they will enjoy their purchased possession, for they are engraved on the palms of his hands, and their names have been written in the book of life from all eternity." Peter's name was written there. As he betrayed Jesus in this way, denied Jesus, Jesus was in the midst of atoning for Peter's sins, even the sin of denying him. Jesus does not fail to save any of his people, not even Christ deniers like Peter, and perhaps some of us. That is a sin he paid for as well. At this point, two of the disciples, one of whose name was Cleopas, set out on a journey to the village of Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they're taking this journey on foot. Okay, so it's going to take a little longer than us getting in our automobiles and driving seven miles. The two disciples were discussing these things as they journeyed there. And while they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. And how their eyes were prevented, we're not told. We don't really need to know either. What we need to know is this, they didn't recognize him. Nevertheless, Jesus asked them what all the fuss was about in this conversation as he joined them. And I'm sure the men were simply astonished at his question. How could anyone have been in Jerusalem during the Passover week and not known what happened to Jesus? all of the big hubbub about it. The entire city was in an uproar just days before this. How could you not know? And so sarcastically, Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days? Jesus decided he would play along. He said to them, What things? And they said to him the things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word, and in the sight of God, and all the people, and how the chief priests and rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. Again, we see their hopes had died with Jesus. And they expected this stranger to be aware of all that had happened. Their world was crushed. How could you not know? However, Cleopas then began describing what probably would not have been widely known in Jerusalem just yet. It would be. Probably not at this point. He said, but also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said. Because, you know, we can't take the women's testimony. Men got to see this, right? but Him they did not see. Jesus did not respond with amazement at these seemingly fantastic tales. I mean, you've got to admit, people don't just rise from the dead all the time. This is strange. But He didn't seem amazed, and He did not sympathize even with these disciples in their perplexity and unbelief. Rather, He immediately and sharply scolded them. O foolish man and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary, necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? Jesus held them responsible for failing to rightly divide the Word of Truth, the Scriptures, What followed was perhaps the best crash course Bible study in the history of the world. Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Likewise, it is our duty as the disciples of Christ that we study the Scriptures to see how they point to Him and how we ought to respond. These two were not part of the eleven. They were not leaders, at least not on that level. They were just guys in the church. Yet Jesus held them accountable for their ignorance and their unbelief. All the disciples of Christ ought to study, to know the doctrine of Christ, which is found in the Scriptures. And Jesus would have been speaking to these from what we know as the Old Testament, as the New Testament had not yet been written. And so it is that we believe in the doctrine of sola Scriptura, Scripture alone. But we also believe in tota Scriptura, all of Scripture. We don't just want to be New Testament Christians. We want to be Biblical Christians, Old Testament and New Testament. It's all about Jesus. Once these disciples arrived at their destination, they exercised hospitality by urging the stranger to stay with them for the night as it was getting dark. We're getting close to night time. Well, you don't want to be out at night. That's dangerous, right? So, he did. He came to stay with them. And when suppertime rolled around, the stranger did a very strange thing. It was customary that the master of the house would offer a blessing and break the bread and then distribute it. However, when the stranger had reclined at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed it. And breaking it, he began giving it to them. And then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. They recognized him because the king was serving them, you see. And he vanished from their sight. And they said 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. So it was getting dark. You don't want to be out at dark. It's dangerous. Oh, it didn't matter now. We got to go. They got up that very hour, and they 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. They began to relate their experiences on the road, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of bread. And now, There were multiple lines of witnesses and even multiple lines of male witnesses to the fact that Christ had risen. We're getting to the point where this is undeniable now. While they were telling these things, Jesus himself stood in their midst and said to them, peace be to you. Common Jewish greeting, shalom. But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And he said to them, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. After receiving some fish to eat, he said to them, These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you." In other words, I told you beforehand. I told you over and over again beforehand that this would happen. That all things which are written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. And then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. These were Jesus' closest companions during His earthly ministry. These were the ones who were with Him as He preached the gospel of the kingdom, as He disputed with the Pharisees, as He performed countless miracles over a period of years. These are the ones to whom He spoke plainly while He was speaking in parables to others. Yet they missed the point. They missed the true meaning of what He proclaimed about Himself and His mission until He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. We're no different than they were. The apostles are said to be the foundation of the church, with Christ being the cornerstone. If these men were unable to understand by their own natural faculties, how much more should we recognize our total dependence upon God for a right understanding of His Word, which is ultimately about Christ? Where is boasting when we learn what we perceive to be some deep insight into the Word? It's excluded. The glory goes to the one who revealed it alone. Nevertheless, we are responsible for reading it and seeking the right understanding of it with prayer. It is the Holy Spirit who guides Christ's church into all truth, but the Holy Spirit uses means, and that means is the Word of God written. Scripture says, He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. But what was it that they finally understood about the Scriptures? Jesus said to them, thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. He got that from the Old Testament. And then he said this truly amazing thing to them. You are witnesses to these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you. That promise is the Holy Spirit. But you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. These men who at the beginning of the day were hiding for fear of the Jews, who were defeated, thinking all hope had been lost at the death of their master, now they were restored and even taken to greater heights of hope. They went from defeated fugitives to victorious witnesses of the risen Christ, just like that. And in just a few short weeks, they would receive the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised, and He would embolden their preaching such that they changed the course of human history forever. They turned the world upside down, as the Jewish opposition would later say. We, by that same Spirit, proclaim that same Gospel, which Scripture says is nothing less than the power of God for salvation everyone who believes. But Thomas, poor 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. See, they were already witnessing to one of their own who had missed the Lord's appearing. They didn't even wait for the go part. They're already witnessing. 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 into his side, I will not believe. And for this, he has received the nickname Doubting Thomas. Of course, to be fair to Thomas, he was only demanding the same level of proof that it took the other disciples to believe, right? They didn't believe when they saw him either, or until they saw him, I should say. It's easy to look at this situation and see that all the disciples believed except him. But let's not forget that even in the event that they reported to Thomas, as Christ stood before their eyes, they believed him to be a ghost. Until what? Until he bid them, touch my hands, touch my feet, touch me. You see, I have flesh and bone. Spirits don't have flesh and bone. So Thomas was really no different than them. Nevertheless, we must ascribe to Thomas the same level of foolishness ascribed to the others before the Lord appeared to them, and really even more. Speaking of this, John Calvin commented, quote, the obstinacy of Thomas is an example to show that this wickedness is almost natural to all men. See, we don't get off the hook either, right? to retard themselves of their own accord when the entrance of faith is open to them. This points out the source of the vice to be that everyone wishes to be wise from his own understanding and flatters himself beyond measure. If I do not see, says he, and if I do not touch, I will not believe. These words have no approach to faith. but it is what may be called a sensual judgment, by which I mean a judgment which is founded on the perception of the senses. The same thing happens to all who are so devoted to themselves that they leave no room for the word of God." Thomas stands as a model of unbelieving mankind in that he would make himself to be the judge of God's word instead of recognizing that it is his personal responsibility before God to believe and obey that Word. Let me state it another way. It was not incumbent upon God to prove the truth of His Word to Thomas. Rather, it was incumbent upon Thomas to hear, believe, and obey that Word. We're not the judges of God's Word. God's Word is our judge. So it is with all mankind. Again, our resurrected Lord held His disciples accountable for not understanding, and then made it abundantly clear. It is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day. Jesus did not owe it to Thomas or anyone else, including us, to offer any further proof. Nevertheless, After eight days, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, Peace be with you. Shalom. Then he said to Thomas, so this appearance appears to be for Thomas, you know, because he doesn't leave any of his sheep lost, right? He said to Thomas, Reach here with your finger, and see my hands, and reach here your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believing." And with this command, Jesus opened Thomas' mind and heart just as he had done with the others. Jesus commanded that Thomas believe in Him, the resurrected Christ. Scripture does not tell us whether Thomas actually touched Christ's hands or side. but it does tell us how he responded to the last and most important of these commands. Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Personalized it, my Lord, my God. This is one of the clearest, explicit affirmations of the deity of Christ in all of scripture. Just as Jesus did not rebuke the women when they worshipped Him, neither did He rebuke Thomas. Why? Well, it's simple. Because what Thomas confessed about Him was true. Both titles Thomas ascribed to Jesus indicated his deity. The Greek word translated as Lord is the same word used in reference to Yahweh in the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. Jesus is the Lord to whom we pledge our first love and allegiance. And Jesus is God, the one who creates and sustains the cosmos, and the one who saves and renews it by the shedding of his blood. Scripture says, for it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Through Him I say whether things on earth or things in heaven. Jesus would make several other appearances about which I'm not going to make any further comment for the sake of time, though they'll briefly come up in a moment. To these he also presented himself alive, after suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. And so then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God, which is the seat of power from which he reigns now." So we have seen the testimony of several eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. And while he's not making physical appearances to us now, he has given his spirit to his people now. And so it is by the spirit of Christ that we encounter him spiritually until the time that he should bodily return to the earth at the end of the age to consummate his kingdom. Then we, his people, will be with him spiritually and physically forever, world without end. Jesus said to believing Thomas, because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed. I want to close by looking back at what we've already read this morning in 1 Corinthians 15 about why all this matters. We've spent all this time talking about this. Why does this matter? As I'm reading this, I want you to contemplate this question. Have you personally encountered the risen Christ? In 1 Corinthians 15, picking up in the first verse, it says, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved. if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, which is another name for Peter, Then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time. How's that for enough witnesses? Most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. So when Paul wrote this, he's saying, don't take my word for it, there's plenty of people for you to go talk to that saw it themselves. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also." That's Paul. For I am the least of the apostles and not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. Can't we all say that? And His grace toward me did not prove vain, but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Or let's change it to a more modern example. How do some of you say it was just a spiritual resurrection? But if there's no resurrection, no physical resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain. Your faith also is vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But, that's always great in Scripture when you come to that, but now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. That has implications for us. One day we'll be like Him. One day we'll be raised in glorified bodies, just like Him. He's the first fruits, not the only fruits. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits. After that, those who are Christ's at his coming. And then comes the end when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father. When he has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he, well there's that word again, must, he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. for He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that He is accepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. Jesus has risen. He's alive forevermore. Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father, to the seat of power, where he possesses and exercises all authority in heaven and on earth. And Jesus will one day return to consummate his kingdom, to set all things right, to put an end to all of his enemies, the last of which will be death. Jesus said, not even the Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. You hear this all the time, who are you to judge me? God's my judge, only God. Well, two things, I'm no one. And the thing that should scare you is He certainly will judge you. We all must encounter this Christ someday. Those who have trusted Him as Lord and Savior receive new life when they encounter Him. But those who stubbornly cling to their sin, they're obstinate like Thomas, obstinate like the apostles, obstinate like us. Those who cling to their sin, receive nothing less than the eternal and just wrath of almighty God. So if you're here this morning and you've not encountered him, you do not know him. Cry out to him for mercy now. Today, if you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Christ bids that his sheep come. He says, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Hallelujah. Jesus is alive. Would you pray with me? We thank you. Words fail, but we as best we can, Lord, we thank you for what we have discussed this morning. Above all else. You sent your son. To live. The perfectly obedient life that we should have lived and failed to live. To die the. death the just penalty against our sin that we deserve to die, that we deserve to incur. And you sent your Son to rise victorious over death, hell, and the grave, and all that are in Him victorious with Him. Thank you. In His name we pray and we lift our praises. Amen.