He is Risen!

Reading of John 18 & 19

Now we come to the tomb…

• Poor men in Jesus' time were buried in simple graves.
• The other Gospels provide additional details, that the garden tomb, located not far from the site of the crucifixion, belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a dissenting member of the Jewish high council, who had specifically asked for Jesus' body for the express purpose of giving Him a proper burial.  Only wealthy people could afford such tombs.
• The tomb was hewn into the rock, a chamber with a platform for the body, which was wrapped in linens, with a cloth placed over the face, and covered with fragrant spices throughout the wrappings.
• The tomb would likely have had a doorway of about 5 feet, with a flat, round stone to be rolled into place to protect the body from wild animals or graverobbers.  This stone would have minimally weighed several hundred pounds, although some estimates have placed it at upwards of 2 tons.  However much it weighed, it was a BIG stone.
• Matthew tells us that the Jewish leaders remembered Jesus' words regarding His resurrection, and went to Pilate with their concerns.  He had previously verified that Jesus was dead when Joseph had requested the body, but he instructed them to seal and secure the tomb.
• The tomb would have been carefully inspected to verify that the body was still there.  Then a cord was stretched across the rock, and sealed on both sides with sealing clay marked with the official signet of the governor.  This provided an official authentication on behalf of the Romans that the body was inside, as well as a dire warning to anyone who dare even think about breeching the seal.
• In addition, the tomb was heavily guarded.  According to the traditions of the time, a "guard" was a 16-man security force, each man trained to protect 6 feet of ground.  Four men were placed in front of what they were to protect, and the other 12 were nearby, sleeping in a semi-circle, and rotating shifts every four hours.  Any potential thieves would have to walk over the sleeping soldiers.
• The Romans took this job very seriously.  Falling asleep on the job was punishable by death.  Even the Jewish temple guards were forbidden to even sit or lean while on duty, and any guard found sleeping was to be beaten and burned with his own clothes.

Matthew 28:2-4 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.  His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.  The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

John 20:1-18

• 7 - Jesus' face cloth was folded up
• 14-16 - Mary didn't immediately recognize the Lord until she heard him say her name

Next week, we are going to continue this series, considering Jesus' appearances to people between his resurrection and His ascension.  Today, though, I would like to draw your attention to one more… 

The Road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13-34

• 15-16 - The disciples didn't recognize Jesus.
• 19-24 - They proclaimed him as a prophet and as a teacher, but doubted Him as Messiah, even in light of the recent developments testified to by the women
• 25-27 - Reading of Old Testament prophecies w/ context refresher (66 books, written by over 40 authors, over a span of about 1500 years.  The last book of the Old Testament was written 400 years before Jesus was born.  The Old Testament contains over 300 prophecies of the Messiah to come.  The book of Matthew alone contains 57 prophecies which were fulfilled in Jesus.)

Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah.  Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.

Isaiah 7:14 The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  His government and its peace will never end.  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.  The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Isaiah 40:3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord!  Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! "

Malachi 3:1 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice, O people of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!  Look, your king is coming to you.  He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.

Isaiah 52:7-10,14 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!  The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.  Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people.  He has redeemed Jerusalem.  The Lord has demonstrated his holy power before the eyes of all the nations.  All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God.  But many were amazed when they saw him.  His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.

Psalm 41:9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

Isaiah 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.   I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.

Psalm 22  My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?  Why are you so far away when I groan for help?   But I am a worm and not a man.  I am scorned and despised by all!  Everyone who sees me mocks me.  They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?  Then let the Lord save him!  If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!”  My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart is like wax, melting within me.  My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.  My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.  You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.  My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;  an evil gang closes in on me.  They have pierced my hands and feet.  I can count all my bones.  My enemies stare at me and gloat.  They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing. 

Zechariah 12:10 They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.

Psalm 69:19-21 You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace.  You see all that my enemies are doing.  Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair.  If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.  But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

Psalm 16:9-11 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.  My body rests in safety.  For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.  You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Isaiah 53  Who has believed our message?  To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?  My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.  There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.  He was despised and rejected—  a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.  We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.  He was despised, and we did not care.  Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.   And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!   But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed.  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.  We have left God’s paths to follow our own.  Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. 

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.  Unjustly condemned,  he was led away.  No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream.  But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.  He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone.  But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.  But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. 

Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,  he will have many descendants.  He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.  When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied.  And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.  I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death.  He was counted among the rebels.  He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

• Luke 24:30-31 - As Jesus breaks the bread, they suddenly see Him for who He really was.
• 32 - Does your heart burn within you when you reread these stories?  When you hear the prophecies laid out through the patchwork of scriptures written hundreds of years before Jesus?  Are your eyes open?  Do you truly see Him for who He is?  Consider again the implication of the empty tomb.  He is risen, and has impacted human history in a way that no other person has.  He is alive!

Application:

• 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
• Philippians 2:5-11