FBC Sunrise Service

The Empty Tomb and the Angelic Announcement of the Resurrection

He is risen indeed, is he not? Well, praise the Lord, our God reigns, and we rejoice in that today, and we want to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me begin with reading Matthew's account of the resurrection, beginning in Matthew 27, verse 62.

It says, on the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember, while he was still alive, how that deceiver said, after three days I will rise.

Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say to the people, he is risen from the dead, so the last deception will be worse than the first.

Pilate said to them, you have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how. So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. Now, after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, and behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow, and the guard shook for fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified, he is not here, for he is risen, as he said, come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and indeed he is going before you into Galilee, there you will see him.

Behold, I have told you. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word, and the word they brought was, he is risen, he is risen indeed. Let's open with this hymn under your handout, Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

Jesus Christ is risen today Dan McCants, come and lead us in prayer.

Our Father, again, we thank you for your plan, sending the Lord Jesus to this earth for wretched sinners such as I. Thank you, Father, for your goodness to us. Thank you for just knowing that the Lord Jesus is sitting on the right hand of the Father.

And Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. May we, as we have this program this morning, Father, would you just please meet with us, help us to see the details of this event, and we thank you and praise you.

We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.

The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection

Did the resurrection actually happen? The gospels insist that it was a historical event, and all four of them attest to it. Those who went to the tomb on Sunday morning found it empty, a fact that even those who refused to believe that Jesus rose from the dead were forced to acknowledge.

The gospel accounts are sufficiently different from each other in what they say about the resurrection that they do not present a single narrative, which critics might argue had been concocted for propaganda purposes.

But on the central point that Jesus came back from the tomb, they are all agreed. Moreover, there can be no doubt that those who claim to have seen the risen Christ with their own eyes prepared to brave persecution and martyrdom for that belief, which would be strange if they knew it were not true.

The fact is that there were enough people who claimed to be eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection and who were prepared to stake their lives on the truths of the events recounted in the gospels that the claims they made must be taken with utmost seriousness.

They had nothing to gain by lying. Given the reaction of the Jewish authorities, some of them might have made a considerable sum of money if they had been able and prepared to expose the whole thing as a fraud.

But as we would say today, no one broke rank, and those who saw Jesus after his resurrection remained firmly convinced and united in their testimony to the very end.

John 20, 11 through 18. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned to him, she turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he said these things to her.

Mark 16, nine tells us that when Jesus was risen early in the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. To her, before all others of Adam's children, was granted the privilege of being the first to behold the risen Savior.

Mary, the mother of our Lord, was yet alive. John, the beloved disciple, was yet upon the earth. Yet both were passed over on this occasion in favor of Mary Magdalene, a woman who at one time had probably been a chief of sinners, a woman who at one time had been possessed by seven devils.

She was the first to whom Jesus showed himself alive when he rose victorious from the tomb. The fact is remarkable and full of instruction. We need not doubt, for one thing, that by appearing first to Mary Magdalene, our Lord meant to show us how much he values love and faithfulness.

Last at the cross and first at the grave, last to confess her master while living and first to honor him when dead, this warm-hearted disciple was allowed to be the first to see him when the victory was won.

It was intended to be a personal memorial to the church that those who honor Christ he will honor and that those who do much for him upon earth shall find him even upon earth doing much for them. We need not doubt, for another thing, that our Lord's appearing first to Mary Magdalene was intended to comfort all who have become penitent believers after having run into great excesses of sin.

It was meant to show us that however far we may have fallen, we are raised to entire peace with God if we repent and believe the gospel. Though before far off, we are made nigh. Though before enemies, we are made dear children.

Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. So writes J .C. Ryle. Let's take that hymn sheet again and let's sing the song on the other side, The Day of Resurrection. Let's stand together as we sing, shall we?

Out of the

Be seated, please. Lydia? The Resurrection. We hold so close to our hearts the cross where Jesus died, but so much more than the blood-stained cross is that Jesus came back to life. The stone's been rolled away.

The tomb lay open and bare. They looked for him, and then the angel said that he is no longer here. Oh, what joy they must have felt to see him just once more, to eat with him, to drink with him, to receive him back as Lord.

So much did he accomplish through his death upon the cross and in his rising from the dead. He reconciled us back to God. Nothing else could bridge the gap that sin had wrenched apart. Now we can freely go to God and receive Christ in our hearts.

By M .S. Lowndes.

The Resurrection as the Foundation of Gospel Salvation

Let us cling firmly to the resurrection of Christ as one of the pillars of the gospel. It ought to produce in our minds a settled conviction of the truth of Christianity. Our faith does not depend merely on a set of texts and doctrines.

It is founded on a mighty fact which the skeptic has never been able to overturn. It ought to assure us of the certainty of the resurrection of our own bodies after death. If our master has risen from the grave, we need not doubt that his disciples shall rise again at the last day.

Above all, it ought to fill our hearts with a joyful sense of the fullness of gospel salvation. Who is he that condemns us? Our great surety has not only died for us, but has risen again. He has gone to prison for us and come forth triumphantly after atoning for our sins.

The payment made for us has been accepted. The work of salvation has been perfectly accomplished. No wonder that St. Peter exclaims, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

J .C. Ryle.

Seeing and Believing in John 20

I encourage you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, I'm gonna read verses 24 through 29. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to many of his followers. Paul writes that over 500 saw him at one time.

But Thomas heard the news, but didn't see. Verse 24, now Thomas called the twin, one of the 12, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. So he said to them, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came, doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it in my side.

Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Brief prayer. Father, I pray, speak to us through these few moments of thought, considering this text of seeing, but yet not seeing. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Well, this morning, millions of people all around the world are celebrating this holiday that they call Easter.

And they're doing so in a variety of ways. Most have things to do with it like candy, eggs, a bunny, Easter egg hunts, all that stuff. Some see it as the harbinger of spring, that spring has finally arrived because of Easter.

Some will at least acknowledge that this is the day that the Christians say Jesus rose from the dead and so on. In other words, most people see, but they don't see. They see that there is this holiday, this day that's been set aside, and it is declared a holiday and everybody recognizes it and there's all kinds of stuff manufactured to celebrate this day.

They see the day, but they really don't see. And frankly, as it is today, so was the resurrection of Jesus, isn't that right? Isn't that what we see in our text this morning? That there's a great deal of seeing, but there is less really seeing.

To really see the resurrection of Jesus and its significance requires the eyes of faith. Now look at this passage in John chapter 20. Nico read some of it, I read a little bit more of it, but without the eyes of faith, seeing is perplexing.

Look at verses one and two again. The first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they've taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.

She saw the stone rolled away, she saw that the tomb was empty, but she was perplexed by this. Because when she went to that tomb, as did the other women, they expected to see the stone in place and the tomb still sealed.

Remember, Mark tells us that when they went to the, as they were going to the tomb, the women were talking to one another and they said, well, yeah, we've got these spices to anoint the body, but who's going to roll away the stone for us?

They expected to see the stone still in place. And so what they see, what she sees here is perplexing because what she sees is not what she expects and she can't explain what she sees. She asks the question, where they laid him?

And then same with Peter. Peter verse three says, he went out and the other disciple, they were going to the tomb, they both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, Peter, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying there, yet he did not go in.

And so Simon Peter came, following him, went into the tomb and he saw the linen clothes lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in one place.

What's going on here? Peter is obviously perplexed. Why would somebody take a body and unwrap the grave clothes from that body, fold them up, separate the face covering from the rest of it and lay it in a separate place?

There is seeing, but not really seeing. There is seeing that is followed with perplexity. Without the eyes of faith, seeing is perplexing. And without the eyes of faith, seeing also is confusing. Look at verses 11 to 13.

Mary stood outside the tomb weeping and as she wept, she stooped down, looked into the tomb. She saw these two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the other, at the feet, and where the body had lain.

And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they've taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him. Something is odd here. Something is out of place. Here are these two angels in white sitting in the tomb, at the shelf of that tomb, of that empty tomb.

One at the foot, one at the head. And who are these two men? Who are these two angels? Why are they here? How did they get here? How did they get in here? She sees something that is quite unusual and doesn't really have an answer to it.

And sees something that is yet spectacular. Here are these two angels. She saw these two angels in white. In white. Luke tells us that they were shining, glistening garments. But what does it mean? It is confusing.

Because even though she sees these things, she remains stuck in her assumptions. Her assumption, back in verse two, she says, was they took the way of the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have laid him.

And now she asks these two angelic creatures, these two men who are appearing in white in their glistening garments, and they've got to be something supernatural going on here. But what is her question?

If you've taken away my Lord, what have you done with him? Show me, where have you taken him? She says, they've taken away my Lord and I don't know where he is. Confusing. Without the eyes of faith, seeing is confusing.

And verses 14 and 15 show us that without the eyes of faith, seeing is misleading. Look at these verses. It says, now when she had said this, she turned around and she saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She, supposed him to be the gardener, said to him, sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him and I will take him away.

Seeing is misleading. Jesus actually confronts her. He confronts her. Why are you weeping? That's a question that should have caused her to pause a minute. Why are you weeping? It's a question that is sort of rhetorical, isn't it?

It's as if the questioner is saying to her, you really don't have any reason to be weeping. Why are you doing that? Why are you weeping? But she, instead of pausing to consider that there may be something else going on here, something that Jesus had told us earlier and now has actually come to pass, she doesn't catch that.

She doesn't see that it is actually Jesus who is confronting her. And she jumps back to her, this odd conclusion. Sir, if you have carried him away, where have you laid him? And she jumps to the conclusion that the one speaking to her is the gardener, is the gardener.

But think about this. Why would a gardener open the tomb, unwrap the body, lay the grave clothes aside, and then take that disrobed corpse out of the tomb and relocate it somewhere else? Why would the gardener do such a thing?

You see, this doesn't make any sense. Because she's seeing, but without the eyes of faith, her seeing is misleading her to some really odd conclusions. And then what I read earlier in verses 24 and following, without the eyes of faith, seeing is everything.

Seeing is really the only thing. Thomas hears the testimony of others and the testimony is quite ample and it should be sufficient. They come to Thomas, Thomas comes and the disciples said to him, we have seen the Lord.

But what is his response? I hear what you're saying, but I won't believe it until I see it. You see, because without the eyes of faith, seeing is everything. You've got to prove it to me. I have to be able to touch it.

I have to be able physically to see it for myself. And what he demands here, what Thomas demands is something that is personally spectacular. Unless I see in his hands, the print of the nails and I can put my finger into the print of the nails and my hand into his side, I will not believe.

I've got to see the spectacular for myself. But here's an interesting thing. Jesus indicated it earlier in one of the stories he gave. Without the eyes of faith, even seeing the spectacular isn't going to be enough.

Remember the account of the rich man and Lazarus? The rich man is in Hades and he's in torment and he sees Lazarus and Abraham's bosom on the other side of the chasm. And he says, send somebody from this world, the spirit world, the eternal destiny world, send somebody from here back to my brothers and warn them.

And Jesus said this. He says, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, in other words, if they don't hear with the ears of faith, don't see with the eyes of faith, neither will they be persuaded the one rise from the dead.

The spectacular, without the eyes of faith, it wouldn't even be enough. No, without the eyes of faith, seeing supposedly is everything and so you're seeing is absolutely essential. Without the eyes of faith, seeing is perplexing, it's confusing, it's misleading and it is considered to be everything.

Seeing by Faith in the Risen Christ

But with eyes of faith, with the eyes of faith, let's look at this text again and notice in verse eight that seeing is believing. It is indeed believing. The other disciple, verse eight, this is Peter and John running to the empty tomb.

The other disciple who came to the tomb first being John, he went in also and he saw and he believed. He saw and he believed. Peter and John both saw the same thing. Peter saw the empty tomb, Peter saw the empty shelf, Peter saw the grave closed, separated, but he was perplexed by this.

What is this, what does this mean? John saw the same things and we're told he believed. And we're not told all that he believed, we're not told the content of his belief and whether it was all encompassing, but it says he believed.

He believed more than anybody else at this point, that seems to be the indication. With the eyes of faith, truly seeing is believing. And with the eyes of faith, seeing is also clarifying. Look at verses 16 to 18.

Jesus said to her, Mary, that was it, Mary. And that was sufficient. She turned and said to him, Rabboni, that is teacher. She, her eyes were open, her understanding was clear. She could see clearly now that this one whom she had supposed was the gardener, is not the gardener, this is Rabboni, this is the teacher, this is Jesus.

And notice how faith comes to her, it comes through a gracious word, one simple word, Mary, spoken from the lips of the one whose voice she had heard so many times before, who had spoken her name so many times before, and now as he speaks it again in this gracious word, faith is kindled, faith is granted.

And it is evident by her testimony, Mary, the fact of her faith, Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. She didn't just see the gardener, she saw the Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her.

With the eyes of faith, seeing is believing, seeing is clarifying, and seeing is exhilarating. With the eyes of faith, verses 19 through 23, same day, evening being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, all right, you get the picture here.

There is no joy here, there is no excitement, there's no enthusiasm, there's cowering in fear. Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said to them, peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

They were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you, as the Father has sent me, I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now notice this, notice this exhilaration. The Lord graciously, again, graciously dispels their unbelief.

Did they deserve any of this? No, because why? Jesus had told them on more than one occasion, we're gonna go to Jerusalem, I'm gonna be crucified, on the third day I'm gonna rise again. And they saw none of that.

Their eyes of faith saw none of that. But now Jesus comes and graciously speaks to them and dispels their unbelief. How does he do it? By appearing and speaking a word. Peace be with you. And that faith elicits joy.

They were glad when they saw the Lord. And when that faith is kindled and it is acted upon and it fills the heart with joy, it opens us up to so much more. Even as Jesus goes on to say, as the Father has sent me, I also send you.

Receive the Holy Spirit. With the eyes of faith, seeing is exhilarating. With the eyes of faith, seeing is also humbling. In verses 26 through 28, Jesus appears to Thomas, here are my hands, go ahead with the finger.

The side, you want to see the side? Here it is. Go ahead, put your hand in there. And how does Thomas respond? He's confronted with his unbelief. Thomas sees that he has been an unbeliever, that he has not seen with the eyes of faith.

And how does he respond? He responds in absolute humility and contrition. Does he reach forth his finger? How about his hand? No, no, they hang limp at his side and he just hangs his head and says, my Lord and my God, my Lord and my God.

It's humbling when you see with the eyes of faith. When you truly see Jesus for who he is and what he has done, you cannot but respond with the hands hanging down and the lips confessing, my Lord and my God.

Without the eyes of faith, seeing is everything. I will not believe unless I see kind of a thing. But with the eyes of faith, seeing is nothing. What do I mean? Verses 29 to 31. Jesus said to Thomas, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed.

Then he says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. You have not seen and yet have believed. With the eyes of faith, you don't need to physically see. You believe not because of what you see, as verse 29 says.

Not because of what you see. Why do you believe? Do you believe because you have seen the risen Christ? Because he appeared at the foot of your bed at some time one night in the middle of the night? You had some vision of the resurrected Christ because he transported you back in a time machine and you stood at the empty tomb and you looked in yourself and then he appeared to you and said here.

No, of course not. Why is it that you believe? Not because of what you have physically seen but because of what God has graciously written. Look at verse 30. John goes on and he says, truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in the book but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in his name.

Seeing with the eyes of faith based on what God has graciously given and written. So on this Resurrection Sunday, what do you see? What do you see? Better question, whom do you see? Bless these thoughts to our hearts, oh Lord we pray and we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.

The Joy and Humility of Faith in the Risen Lord

Let's take our hymnals again and turn to number 265, 265. And we'll stand together as we sing Christ arose. Verse 265, he is risen indeed. Our Father and our God, we thank you for our living risen savior.

We thank you that he has appeared to us through the pages of your word. We thank you for the eyes of faith that you and your grace have granted. We thank you that today we can rejoice, we can rejoice and be glad because we have seen the Lord.

Fathers, we go from here and we partake of this meal. We pray that you would bless the food to the nourishing of our bodies. We thank you for graciously providing it for us. Thank you for those who have prepared it and prepared this meal in this time for us together.

Blessed we pray and we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. And you are dismissed to the fellowship hall.