Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Psalm of praise 68:1
Prayer
Scripture hymn 12-2:5 (27:5 in the older edition)
Scripture
reading: Matthew
28; Judges 16
Scripture
text:
Matthew 28:5-8; Catechism Lord’s Day 17
The angel said to the women,
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus,
who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come
and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into
Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told
you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet
filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matthew
28:5-8 NIV)
How does Christ's resurrection benefit us?
We accept his resurrection and know it is part of his glorification,
but does it mean anything to us?
The Lord Jesus explicitly said that we should acknowledge his Name
before people. Hence we should also tell people about the meaning of
his resurrection.
- Our faith is not a blind faith!
- The
essential part of our faith is acknowledging the resurrection, because
the resurrection determines our salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ comprises a threefold benefit
for us:
1.
The gift of the Conqueror
2.
The power of the Prince of Life
3.
The pledge of the Mediator
1.
The gift of the Conqueror
When the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, Satan must have been
totally perplexed like the people of Gaza were when Samson took hold of
the doors of the gate of the city, pulled up the two posts, bar and
all, put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill
that is before Hebron! The physical force and finality of the deed
shook them.
This deed by Samson foretold what the Lord Jesus would do to death
– He would break away the gates to death for the chosen
people.
- There were no longer any gates that could lock in the
property of the Lord Jesus.
- And this is the beginning of the Lord Jesus’
glorification – it brought a final end to his suffering and
grief.
Because the Lord Jesus fought against death and defeated it, He can
– as the Conqueror – hand out the gifts he obtained.
He gives us righteousness.
- Righteousness means that we have been saved from all
injustice.
- And if you had been guilty of wrong done by you, you have
been acquitted.
- It also means that we should not do anything that is
unrighteous.
Anybody should realise how greatly we need righteousness.
- We sometimes complain about other people’s
weaknesses/dishonesty/sins, but then we forget about our own
weaknesses/dishonesty/sins.
- We all fall short of righteousness.
We all realise that that there is so much wrong and evil in our lives
from which we have to be saved before we can enter the Kingdom of God.
- We need to be acquitted from everything that counts against
us – otherwise we’ll live in hell when our life on
earth has come to an end.
- In short: We absolutely need the righteousness granted to
us by the Lord Jesus Christ!
The righteousness of the Lord Jesus has very great power, because it is
given to us from God, and the things done by the Lord feature his
characteristics:
- It is in indestructible.
- It is for eternity.
- It value is beyond measure.
Just think about it:
- None of us deserve to go to heaven,
- But we will go there, because the Son of God gives it to us
for nothing – no charge!
The value of this gift increases when we consider the price at which it
was acquired:
- No money could pay for it!
- The Lord Jesus Christ had to earn it with his life.
- Think about it: none of us would die for somebody who has
offended us or who has harmed us in every possible way.
- Yet, this is exactly what the Lord Jesus did for us.
Through his resurrection the Lord Jesus defeated death so that we could
share in the righteousness He obtained by his death for us.
This is the purpose of the Lord Jesus’ victory: He grants us
forgiveness and eternal life – which we do not deserve.
- The righteousness of God replaces our real death and sinful
life with a new shining eternal life.
- With his righteousness He replaces in us the image of God
that we have scarred and also have lost in many ways.
- He acquits us from all burden of sin unconditionally.
The Lord teaches us about his righteousness through his Word and the
working of God the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit works in us to be honest to acknowledge our guilt and
to wish for salvation.
2.
The power of the Prince of Life
He generates new life – and He does it inside us.
- This new life excludes death.
- The Lord Jesus Christ awakens us with so much power that
the eternal life He gives us is really for eternity.
- It is superior to death.
Also, He only gives it to the chosen so that it can never be taken away
from them.
- The word chosen
means the elect.
- Put differently: People who will belong to the Lord forever.
The power of the Lord Jesus Christ destroyed the power of death so that
it will never again rule over the people who belong to Him.
How do we come to this conclusion? Of course the Lord gives it, but He
expects us to act in faith responsibly. We must seek the Lord. This is
a very old command!
Seek the Lord while he may be
found; call on him while he is near. (Isaiah
55:6 NIV)
Seek the Lord and live, or he
will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and
Bethel will have no one to quench it. (Amos 5:6 NIV)
Seek the Lord, all you humble of
the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek
humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the
Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3 NIV)
It’s all about priorities. What is important to us? Money,
status, food, clothes? The Lord knows what we think and where we go
wrong. Therefore He teaches us:
And do not set your heart on what
you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs
after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But
seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (Luke
12:29-31 NIV)
Many people find it very difficult to understand spiritual values and
things such as salvation and to attain an eternal relationship with God.
- Remember Simon the magician who wanted to obtain the gift
of God with money?
Women also sought the Lord Jesus. The Bible creates a specific
atmosphere around them.
- They know their salvation is guaranteed through the Lord
Jesus Christ.
- They are humble – almost helpless.
- They realise their own weakness.
- They are those among us who thank the Lord for his great
mercy by which He guides and leads and protects us throughout our lives
into eternity.
People who do not bear the fruit of the Lord Jesus’
resurrection, show it in the way they lives.
- The Bible describes them as being selfish.
- They want to be honoured (vain honour!).
- They regard their own capabilities as the determining their
lives.
- Therefore such people also tend to continue to sin.
People, who have received the new life from the Lord Jesus that was
confirmed by God the Holy Spirit, are different.
- They realise how unworthy they are – but also
realise the greatness of God’s power and mercy they receive
through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
- Hence their lives reflect the fact that they are conquerors:
- Friendliness and gentleness.
- They do not live with grievance in their hearts
– they live joyfully throughout each day.
3.
The pledge of the Mediator
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus in his human body is a sure pledge
of the resurrection of my own body.
- At the end of times my body will rise from the dead just
like the body of the Lord Jesus rose from the dead.
- This proves to me that fear and death no longer have any
power. Eventually nothing will be left of it.
A woman giving birth to a child
has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she
forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the
world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again
and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John
16:21-22 NIV)
Who among us still dare to doubt if the Lord Himself says,
. . . but I will see you again
and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Peter went into the grave to see what it looked like after the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Then Simon Peter, who was behind
him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying
there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head.
The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. (John
20:6-7 NIV)
The Lord Jesus so easily rose from the dead that He even carefully
folded up the cloth that had been wound around his head! The grave had
been tidied up, because He was never to return to it!
This grave is but the reflection or symbol of our sins. Hence it tells
of the resurrection and also of God’s mercy through the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
- The grave is empty!
- The stone has been rolled away.
- The gates of death have been removed for those who believe.
Let’s read together what we testify about these things in
Catechism Lord’s Day 17.
45. Q. How does Christ's
resurrection benefit us?
A. First, by
His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He could make us share
in the righteousness which He had obtained for us by His death.[1]
Second, by His power we too are raised up to a new life.[2] Third,
Christ's resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious
resurrection.[3]
[1] Rom. 4:25; I Cor.
15:16-20; I Pet. 1:3-5. [2] Rom. 6:5-11; Eph. 2:4-6; Col. 3:1-4. [3]
Rom. 8:11; I
Cor. 15:12-23; Phil. 3:20, 21.
Amen.
Closing prayer
Closing hymn 1-2:1-3 (new)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
Date: 7 May 2006
(evening)