JESUS’ RESURRECTION The Hope of Our Forgiveness

A Muslim and a Christian discussed the difference between their religions. The Muslim said, “In Mecca, we have a grave containing the bones of Mohammed. All you Christians have is an empty tomb.” The Christian replied, “Exactly!” Jesus rose from the dead on Passover day Many doubted then, and continue to deny now, that resurrection of the dead has ever happened – Sadducees denied resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8) – Pagans sneered at resurrection of the dead (Acts 17:18,32) Likewise, man may doubt that his sins have been forgiven in Christ, since forgiveness cannot be seen or measured Two important issues for this discussion: – Did Jesus have authority to forgive sins? – What does the resurrection of Jesus mean for us and the forgiveness of our sins?

Did Jesus have the authority to forgive sins? – Luke 7:40-50 (Parable of the Two Debtors) Jesus pronounced the woman’s sins forgiven Forgiveness was on the basis of her faith Skeptics questioned it. Who is He? – Mark 2:1-12 (Jesus heals a lame man) Jesus pronounced the man’s sins forgiven Forgiveness was based on the faith of the paralytic and his friends Skeptics cried blasphemy…who can forgive sins but God alone? Anyone can say your sins are forgiven…it cannot be proven otherwise by any scientific examination. It is easy to say such a thing. How could Jesus prove that He had the authority to forgive sins? By working a miracle that only the power of God could work! Jesus healed the man, proving His divine authority to forgive sins How wonderful to have the Forgiver of sins among man!

The presence of Jesus, the Forgiver of sins, was a great blessing to those who came to Him. – But what would happen if He left them? – What would happen if He died? – What hope would His disciples have if they lost Him? Their worst fear came true…Jesus was crucified – He was betrayed by His own disciple, abandoned by His friends, tried and convicted by liars, rejected by His people, and executed like a criminal, even though He was innocent. – The One in Whom they put their hope was gone, dead and buried (Luke 24:18-21) Can a dead man forgive sins? Can a dead man bring deliverance? Can a dead man rule a kingdom of the living?

Jesus truly died in the flesh. They buried Him in a tomb. They sealed the tomb with a large stone, and posted guards to keep it secure. – But God did not allow His flesh to undergo decay, nor abandon His soul to Hades! God raised Jesus from the dead, restored life to His physical body, and removed the stone from the tomb – Jesus appeared to His followers several times to prove that He was alive (1 Cor. 15:3-6) – Luke 24: Their doubts were dispelled, their hope was restored. They saw Him with their own eyes and recognized His face. They touched His hands and feet and saw the wounds, and knew that He was the same One who had been crucified. They touched Him and knew He was not a ghost or spirit. They heard His words and recognized His voice. They saw Him eat food and knew He was really alive in the body. They remembered and understood the prophecies.

This is the good news, the Gospel: That Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, and God raised Him up from the dead, and He appeared alive to His disciples so that they could testify that He lives. The forgiver of our sins is alive! Even death could not stop Jesus from being our Savior. Since the forgiver of sins is alive, that gives us hope for the forgiveness of our own sins, because a dead man cannot forgive sins, and God would not have raised Him from the grave if Jesus was not the righteous Savior. Just as Jesus proved that He had the authority to forgive sins by working miracles, God demonstrated that He had given Jesus this authority by working the ultimate miracle on Him, the resurrection from the grave.

Because Jesus lives, we have a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3): – Hope for the forgiveness of our sins – Hope for our own resurrection – Hope for an eternal home in heaven with Him – Hope that the things we do here today are not in vain 1 Cor. 15:14-19 Jesus’ resurrection is essential to our salvation, just as essential as His death and the shedding of His blood. Without the resurrection, we would have a tomb full of bones that cannot forgive sins, a God who cannot be trusted to fulfill His promise and bring to pass His prophecies. Without it, our faith is in vain, we are still in our sins, our efforts are wasted, our assemblies are pointless, and we have no authority to pray. Without it, we have no assurance of a future heavenly home, and no hope to escape the grave and be raised up in glory. Without the resurrection, Satan is the victor and will continue to rule over this world. Without the resurrection, we are all hopeless and lost.

Let us thank God that He did raise Jesus from the grave. Let us thank Him for giving us proof of His power, proof of our forgiveness, and proof of His future intention to raise us up as well. Let us thank God that Jesus appeared to so many witnesses who saw Him alive in the flesh, testified of what they saw and wrote it down so that we could read it, believe, and have hope today. A great day is coming in which all who are dead will be resurrected, a day of judgment (John 5:28-29) Those who believe in the identify and authority of Jesus, and submit themselves to Him, have nothing to fear of this coming judgment day. Are you among those who have obeyed the Gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ?