Sermon
After The Resurrection
April 27, 2003
Pastor Donald Sheley

Let's take our Bible as well as our notes today. And if you do not have your notes, raise your hand because they are jam-packed with a great number of verses that I want you to take home. Now I assure you we're not going to be able to finish our lesson today. Okay?. So make sure you bring your notes back next week. We'll journey along in our lesson as far as we can.

What I entitled the sermon "After The Resurrection". I think if I retitled, it would be "The Theology of the Resurrection". Because what happens when you read through the scriptures it's absolutely amazing in the New Testament to find so much of our doctrine, so much of our faith, that relates to the Resurrection. It's tied there. And you know, I think this is one of the frustrations that I have in preaching; when it comes to Easter I've got 15 hours of great truths to fit into 15 minutes on an Easter morning, and for a preacher that's frustrating.

So here's what I've decided to do. We're going to have Easter for the next four or five Sundays. In other words, we're going to take the subject of the Resurrection and we are going to go through the scriptures and see what a marvelous, marvelous truth that wrap around the great event of the Resurrection. And I just pray that as we do when Easter comes, the Lord willing, next year, you'll have a greater love and a deeper appreciation for this wondrous event, the Resurrection of Christ.

Lord Jesus, please help us today. Amen.

We began by Paul's great comments in the book of 1 Corinthians. In fact, the entire chapter, it's 58 verses long, has to do with the Resurrection. We'll take the first 22 verses.

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas (that's Peter), then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.

Pause -- I've always thought that occasion where 500 people at one time saw Jesus must have taken place at the Mount of Ascension, but this week I went back and researched and I realized that many theologians, and many Bible scholars, say; no, really what happened, that while Jesus was up in Galilee this large group of Galileans gathered round Him on some mountain up there in Galilee. We're going to talk about His visit there in just a moment. So it's an occasion that took place in Galilee, and then, of course, the ascension more people witnessed a Christ to had risen from the dead.

He says: Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. You say, what did he mean by that, Pastor? Now your translation may have another phrase there, but what does it mean to be born out of due time? And here's what Paul is saying; Paul is saying that my conversion was later and different than the other apostles and disciples. They had met Jesus down by the seashore. They heard His words. They saw Him. They followed Him, and they loved Him in the flesh.

My conversion took place after Christ went back to heaven, and I'm on my way to Damascus in the act of persecuted the Christians. And it was there that a light shown from heaven and I was thrown to the ground, and it's there I met Jesus. So my conversion was different. It was a time when I met Him, I heard His voice when He said, Paul, Paul. Why do you kick against the bricks? And he said, I answered back, Lord, what is it You want me to do?

So what Paul is simply saying, my spiritual birth was later, at a later time than the disciples was.

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether 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? Now let's pause. Can you imagine sitting in the church pews in Corinth and know that here's a Christian church and you've got people sitting there who don't even believe in the Resurrection? Paul said, how is it that some say that He did not come out of that grave? 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? Then his logic follows.

Look at what he says: But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. or if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

And then Paul prays a prayer for the Ephesian Christians. Look at what he says: "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

Now we began our lesson with these comments: If Jesus had lived a lovely life and died an heroic death, and if that had been the end of Him, He might have been numbered with the great and the heroic, but He would simply have been One among many. His uniqueness is guaranteed forever by the fact of the Resurrection. The others are dead and gone, and have left a memory. Jesus lives on and gives us a presence, still mighty with power.

The historic Resurrection of Jesus transformed predictions into reality and became the core of Christian preaching and the foundation of our glorious faith. The Book of Acts preserves in condensed and sometimes fragmentary fashion, sermons delivered on strategic occasions, which provide for us evidence of the importance of the Resurrection to the new preachers of the Christian faith.

Pause -- If we had time, we could read through the book of Acts and all the sermons that are recorded there. One amazing fact -- the center point of all those sermons is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So the crowds have dispersed back into the hum-drum of daily living. The stores and the merchants count their profits from the extra sales of Easter season, and the church choir await another year to sing their cantatas and musicals, but, after the Resurrection, what happened? What was the effect of the Resurrection upon the early disciples, and how did it influence their lives and their preaching? What is the doctrinal significance of the Resurrection?

Well first of all, we know that a Resurrection party was held in Galilee soon after the glorious event took place. Now Galilee is located about 75 miles north of Jerusalem. So if you could walk about 10 miles a day, that's a journey of 7 or 8 days, and what Jesus is saying is, right after the Lord's Supper He said: "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Meet Me there. That's where the party is going to be held.

John tells us: After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (that's the Sea of Galilee). And he says that He showed Himself this way.

So after the events that take place immediately following the Resurrection, they know there's a party being prepared for them 75 miles away. They've got to walk there. Now, here's the problem. You remember when Mary came back and she said, He's alive. The tomb is empty! They said, we don't believe you. One of the things that marked those early disciples with this tremendous disbelief, they couldn't grasp, they couldn't get their mind around that marvelous truth that the Christ that they had seen nailed to a cross and put in a tomb -- He's amongst them, He's alive. So there's great wonderment and great confusion, but they're going to go to the party.

Can you hear them as they are walking along? What's this going to be like? What's it going to be like to see Him? Is He going to be the same? Did all of change Him? Is it really true? So when they arrive, and it seems they haven't made a connection yet with Jesus, old Peter says, let's go fishing. They were fishermen before Jesus called them.

Now they went fishing at night. You say, why? Well, on the Sea of Galilee you always fish at night in the moonlight. You don't fish during the daytime. So all the fishermen go out at night and what happens is in the early morning hours the merchants from the local food shops go down and stand along the sea shore. When they see these little fishing boats start coming across the horizon, they call out and say, have you caught any fish! What they're simply saying is I'd like to buy your catch so I can rush it back to the market and sell it. So it's an offer to buy whatever fish they had caught.

And it's Jesus now who's asking the question, did you catch anything? Do you have any food children? No, we fished all night and we didn't catch a thing. Well, take your nets and cast them on the other side of the ship. And they did. And what happened? They got a slew of fish, 153. They filled one boat and didn't have sufficient space so they had to call in another boat.

I've always been fascinated -- how come they took time to count those fish? Why mind just works that way. What's the importance of 153 fish? And some Bible scholars get all wrapped up in numerology and every number has a certain meaning, and they get these great big spiritual lessons. So I decided this week I'm going to find out what the theologians suggest is the meaning of 153 fish. I got 31 different explanations. And one of them said, well, there are 100 Jews, 50 Gentiles, and then the Trinity. And I thought what a dumb explanation of the 153 fish. But here's the reason why the records there: remember, there are only a handful of men there on the sea shore -- less than a dozen. Can you think about trying to eat 153 fish? The idea is that Christ is always the Christ of more than enough. Always more than enough!

He goes to a wedding and they run out of wine and He says take six jars, they contain 20 or 30 gallons each, fill them with water, and He provides 180 gallons of wine for the party. Now that's a party. It'll last a long time. It's not the idea of 180 gallons of wine, it's the fact that when Jesus does something it's always more than enough.

He feeds the 5000, and what's left over is 12 baskets. He feeds 4000 and He's got 7 baskets. Always more than enough. So Jesus invites them to breakfast. He says, come and dine. I think I've told you this, again, it always amazes me that Jesus likes food. Almost everything He does -- when He heals the little girl He says go to the kitchen and get some food. Zacchaeus -- I'm going to your house. I want some food. He was known as a gluttonous man, but one thing I can relate to him, I like food too.

And Jesus said to His disciples, come, let's have something to eat. Now I want you to put yourself there. The fire is crackling around the sea shore, and the Man you wonder if He's for real is there. They watch Him as He prepares the food and they see the nail prints in His hands and on His feet. Can you imagine when He sits down and they start asking Him, Jesus, what was it like when they started driving those nails in Your hand? Jesus, what were You going through? Tell us why You said, my God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? Can you imagine the conversations that took place at that party?

I suggest in your notes that some people there thought that the disciples were suffering from visions or hallucinations. But when they finished with that party with Jesus all fear was gone, all questions were answered, and their faith was secure. This was the man who went to that cross, our Jesus. Look with me at the top of page 4. John tells us in his writings, he said, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus." John said, I saw Him, I touched Him, I heard Him, I know Him, and what I've got to say comes from personal experience.

So the reason for that party up in Galilee was to erase every doubt, every question, and every fear. And that was such a convincing moment that those disciples their faith was solidified and cemented, never to move again because it was a truth they believe in so much they would die for it. And they did die preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It's an interesting story to go through the life of all the disciples and see how they died. All of them were martyrs except John who died of old age, but their faith was so secure and so sure nothing moved it. That's really true about us too, isn't it? It's when we come to know Jesus in a wonderful personal way, to sense His forgiveness and His cleansing, to know His love and to feel His presence there something about that experience that makes our faith unshakable. Amen?

This personal time with the risen Christ, I'm still on page 4, deeply affected their preaching. The first sermons recorded in Acts were spoken by Peter in Jerusalem and were intended for Jewish hearers. Their main objective was to show that God had reversed the verdict which the national leaders had passed on Jesus. Peter drew a sharp contrast between the Jewish attitude and the divine purpose. "You killed Him! God raised Him." What a contrast. And you'll find that refrain echoed over and over again in the book of Acts.

The reaction was immediate; a sense of guilt resulting either in repentance or hostility. Repentance -- when Peter finished his sermon there in chapter 2, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"" The preaching of the resurrection had brought them to a point of repentance and they are crying out, what are we to do? Peter. And he says, Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And the result of the preaching of the Resurrection on that Pentecostal day netted over 3000 into the kingdom of God.

But also, preaching of the Resurrection for many resulted in hostility. Look at the other one. "The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the Resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day." Hostility.

So the preaching of the Resurrection had changed those disciples, but in the proclamation of the resurrection it produced either repentance or hostility. And it still does today. And notice that neither skepticism nor indifference marked the attitude of Peter's audience, neither did they impugn his basic statements as being untrue. They knew what Peter said was true. And if there was any doubt all they had to do was walk over and look at the tomb themselves. They never questioned his honesty.

But now that he's met Jesus, can you see the conviction as He says, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging Him on a tree. Him did God exalt with His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey Him." So the appeal to the Jewish audience was simple and direct, confined chiefly to the verification of Jesus' Messiahship and the establishment of the national guilt.

What happened after the Resurrection? A party, the solidification, the total cementing of their faith to a Christ they knew that was real. And it changed their preaching, they had one theme, He came out of that tomb -- He came out to that tomb.

Now, because our time is gone, what I'd like for you to do is just mark your lesson and bring it back next week. We're going to journey on because what we're going to find it is there are many great theological truths that center in the Resurrection. We're going to come to the ascension, and then next week we want to talk about His eternal priesthood, the priesthood of Christ. It's thrilling. It didn't all end on Easter morning, folks. We're going to have Easter for the next 4 or 5 weeks. Amen?

Let stand together, shall we? Lord Jesus, our hearts are thrilled with joy as we rejoice still in that glorious event of the empty tomb. For us the joy of Easter still is vibrant within us today. To know, Lord Jesus, You arranged a time where You could wipe away all the fear and all the questions, and spend personnel time with Your disciples so that their life was dramatically, totally changed. And from that change came a preachment that brought people to repentance or to rejection.

We realize that even today the preaching of the Resurrection and the glorious truths of salvation still have similar effects on mankind; many repent, but many reject. On this beautiful day we stand here in the sanctuary thanking You that in the work of Your holy Spirit You opened our hearts and our minds. You helped us. You gave us the faith to believe. We came to that experience of knowing Your love, and Your mercy and grace, and we thank you Lord Jesus for that faith. We bow in Your presence and we worship You. In Jesus' name. Amen? God bless you all. God bless you.