"Resurrection"

By Gerald Cumby


Truth: There is no question about whether this resurrection of the Nazarene is metaphorical (allegorical/figuratively/symbolic/imaginative) or physical.

• Over five hundred people saw Him, many of whom would live to the twilight of the first century.
• These witnesses could have unmasked Paul, Peter, James, and the others as "mad-men" had they another story to tell.
• There would have been profit in doing so, for the message of the resurrected and living Jesus was wrecking entire economies built on archaic, sensual religions of mythology and mirth.
  NOTE: Instead, "the Way" grew by leaps and bounds.
• The imprisoned Apostles' cells became chapels.
• Bind the Apostles and some witnesses with chains and shackles and their prisons became parishes.
• Imprison the most highly-trained and loyal palace guards, and the captors became Christians.
• The resurrection changed everything. Nothing would be the same again.

Jesus was history (at the dismay of religious leaders and government officials)...You could speak of time, place, his birth, his life, miracles, death, changed lives and new life.
In Jesus Christ and his resurrection God entered time.

Do you want to know the Gospel story (the truth) in its simplest affirmation?
"Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again."
Affirmation= a word or phrase repeated to oneself to declare a certain belief or feeling. Affirmations help a person to change their mindset and become the person they wish to be.

FACTS CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE CHRIST.

1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the undeniable centering point of Christianity, the defining doctrine of our faith, and the most outstanding claim in the history of the world:
   A. A God-Man, sent from heaven, crucified in the most public way, dead and buried in a rich man's   tomb, which sepulcher was sealed with inscrutable security by the mighty military powers of the    Roman Empire, and then—a dead man who called Himself Almighty God—lives.
   B. The corporal person of Jesus of Nazareth exists today. He is not buried. He lives in a resurrected    physique. And even more astounding: because He lives, all who die with faith in Him will also rise     body joined to the soul.
2. The Resurrection of Jesus Was a Cause to Die For...
     A. All of the Apostles would die for the message of the resurrection except for John, who would    suffer for it, and die as an old man in the parish of Ephesus.
      B. Thomas would go to India and be martyred at modern-day Chennai.
      C. Mark went to Egypt and died while preaching eternal life in Christ.
      D. Other extra-biblical literature of the day would say that Joseph of Arimathea went to Britain and    witnessed the resurrection of Jesus.
3. The Resurrection of Jesus Overtook Death
      A. Just years after the resurrected Christ ascended into heaven—again, with witnesses light of    God's truth that Isaiah had prophesied was going to the ends of the earth.
      B. The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection, not only illuminated the    plight of human beings but magnified the power of God.
      C. Hope replaced resignation.
      D. Life could be lived with the assurance of sins forgiven and a new way of living established: with   the certainty that "whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live. And whoever believes in   me shall never die" (John 11:25-26).

The Significance of the Resurrection

Before we go any further in this lesson, let's establish a FACT.
SCRIPTURES DON'T LIE - GOD DOES NOT LIE!

• Jesus died for our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:3, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."
• Our faith would be meaningless if there had been no resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."
• The proclamation: Jesus was resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15:20, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
• 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, "I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

Paul is one of the people who saw Jesus after the resurrection.
And we who know Jesus...know the truth...and it has set us free!

The Blessings of God is promised to the believer!
            Blessings...Blessings...Blessings to those who heed the Word of the Lord.
A special blessing is promised to those who read the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:3)
There are 7 Blessings found for the Christian in Revelation.

(7 Beatitudes in Revelation)

Blessed are:

1. "Are those who read, hears and keeps (obeys)"; Rev. 1:3
2. "Are the dead who die in the Lord." Rev. 14:13
3. "Is he who is awake, keeping his garments...", Rev. 16:15 (Who watches and is ready!)
4. "Are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb"; Rev. 19:9 (Invited guests of God)
5. "Is he who shares in the 1st Resurrection"; Rev. 20:6 (Is the man who death cannot touch)
6. "Is he who keeps the Words of the prophecy of this book"; Rev. 22:7 (Is the wise reader of God's Word)
7. "Are those who do His commandments"; Rev. 22:14 (Are those who hears and obeys)

Every Christian has the opportunity of the seven (7) blessings of God! It is open to you and me.... It is a decision all of us must make!

Key Verse of Revelation: Revelation 1:19, "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later."

The Beatitudes spoken by Jesus...Blessings, blessings, blessings.

Blessed...217 times in NIV; 36 times in Genesis alone.

John 20:29, "Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"

Deuteronomy 28:6, "You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out."

Christ is Risen!
He has Risen Indeed...