4 Gospels: 1 Resurrection

I was talking to someone the other day and asked them about eternal life, and when you die do you think you're going to go to heaven? And I received the typical response, and here's the typical response.

I hope so. Right? I don't want to go to hell, I hope I go to heaven. The question is, can anybody really know? Can you know that you're going to go to heaven before you die? Can you know while you're alive?

I've been around a lot of people on their deathbeds, and even our own beloved Mark Westcott when he was dying, I said, are you afraid to die? And he said, no. I said, how can you not be afraid to die and meet a thrice holy transcendent God?

And he said, because Jesus Christ has paid all my sins, and he lives to make intercession for me. Friends, without the resurrection there's no hope, there's no Christianity, this is all a big farce, and maybe at best a tax write-off.

But with the resurrection there is hope that when you die you stand before the Lord, and Paul's words echo through our minds and ears. To live is Christ and to die is what? Gain, because of the work of Christ.

Paul could say, absent from the body, present with the Lord. And so today we're going to look at, it might strike you strangely, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every week we talk about the risen Lord, but specifically today I want to make sure we understand what it means that Jesus was raised from the dead.

If he wasn't, not only is there no hope for me or for you, but it would prove that Jesus was a liar because he said, I'm going to lay down my life and I'll take it up again. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, he wouldn't just be a liar, but he probably was a sinner because he would have had to die for his own sins and pay for his own sins.

But it says Christ died for our sins. And lastly, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, it would mean that the Father didn't accept the sacrifice. Was the sacrifice at Calvary enough for the Father? And since Jesus was raised from the dead, it's like the Father said to Jesus as I am finished, the Father said, Amen, I accept the sacrifice.

Now this is my 23rd Easter sermon here at Bethlehem Bible Church, or for some of you older folks, Bethlehem Baptist Church. And I thought, the old ones laugh, and I thought, okay, I can't take a fresh perspective on the resurrection and make it different, but I can step back and think, alright, what do I need to know about the resurrection and preach it to these dear people at Bethlehem Bible Church who would like to have some good news?

So what I did is I read the end of Matthew, the end of Mark, the end of Luke, and the end of John to see the different nuances of that singular resurrection where Jesus raises himself from the dead, where the Father vindicates him and also raises him from the dead, and the Spirit of God raises Jesus from the dead.

And I thought, there's so much truth in seeing Matthew's viewpoint, Mark's viewpoint, Luke's viewpoint, and John's viewpoint, I want to show those to the congregation on resurrection Sunday morning, looking at all four Gospels and seeing the resurrection in each one of those.

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel means good news. We don't have to pay for our sins. We're all sinners and fall short of the glory of God and should be judged.

But there's a Savior who loves sinners, and His name is Jesus Christ, and He lives a perfect life that we couldn't live but must have lived. He dies on the cross for our sins and is raised from the dead.

And we're going to look at this Gospel account of Matthew, of Mark, of Luke, and of John. And we're just going to look at the end of each one of those, and there's going to be a good emphasis in light of this truth, how shall we live, what shall we do, how should we think.

If you're brand new to Christianity, this is very important for you to listen to because this in effect is the capstone of the Christian religion, that Jesus Christ literally was raised from the dead.

And if you just stop for a moment and think of those people that you've walked by in cemeteries, when you've gone to wakes and funerals and to see their stone cold dead bodies, who could make themselves alive after being dead?

Only the Lord Jesus could do that. Now Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are biographies of Jesus. They're the life story of Jesus, but they're not just a typical biography. They are theological biographies.

They're meant to make a point. They're not just meant to give you data, oh, Jesus was raised from the dead. That's good data, but there's more than that. There's a theological aspect to it. Just like with the death of Christ, Jesus died on the cross, that's history.

Jesus died on the cross for sinners, that's theological history. And Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John contain theological history so that you might not only know these gospels and the Lord Jesus, but that you might believe in him.

If you had to respond to the resurrection and Jesus with being good, how good must you be and for how long must you be good? One time it takes to sin against God and there's judgment. And so this God is going to have to be good for us.

This God is going to have to forgive our sins. It's going to have to be God's testimony to us, not our goodness to him. So if you have your Bibles, we're going to look at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and we're going to look at the resurrection in each account.

Now I know for the people that are members here, you are saying this to yourself right now, there's no way he can do it. There's no possible way. But since we don't have evening service, I've got plenty of time.

You're going to hear the refrain in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that Jesus triumphs over your biggest enemies. Satan, he's real. Death, it's real. And sin, sadly, is real. And once these accounts were established and written, throughout the centuries ever since, including today, we say Jesus has been raised from the dead.

It's part of the warp and woof of Christianity. Even back to the Apostles' Creed, I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.

And it did not end there. He descended to hell, and the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Now before we look at Matthew, it should not surprise you that there are going to be four different emphases with the same resurrection, because Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote from different perspectives.

They were different people. Three were Jewish, and one was a Gentile. And Matthew writes as a Jewish person, showing that Jesus is culminating all these Jewish prophecies. Mark writes as Jesus as a servant, where Jesus comes not to be served, but to serve and to give a life, his ransom, for many.

Luke writes as a Gentile physician with all kinds of details and how this person, Jesus, was not just God, but he was man as well. And then John writes that Jesus is eternal. His genealogy doesn't start when he was born.

His genealogy starts before Genesis 1 -1. So Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each have a different theological focus while they record the same event, and we're going to try to notice those four today. So if you want an outline, we're going to look at four gospel accounts of the resurrection with four responses for you.

And of course, the main response is that you believe and keep believing. But there'll be some great truths that we'll see here. Matthew chapter 28, verses 1 and following. And for our outline point with this section, let's call it commissioning, commissioning.

Resurrection account, Matthew 28, verse 1. Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Of course, Jesus has already died.

And behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here for he has risen. As he said, come see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you. So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples and behold, Jesus met them and said, greetings.

And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me. While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priest all that had taken place.

And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people. His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.

And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

And now we come to this commissioning. Interestingly, the gospel of Matthew doesn't end with the resurrection. It ends with this commission. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

And the first thing that probably goes through your mind is mountains and Matthew kind of go together. We're on the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus gives his discourse. On the Mount of Transfiguration, he is transfigured and his glory is shown.

On the Mount of Olives, he gives his end times discussion. And now we see him on this Galilean mountain. I'm sure he's going to say something as important as the Sermon on the Mount, as important as he talked on the Olivet Discourse.

Something important is coming. When they saw him, and this is the knee-jerk response, they worshipped him. On their face they went, that's the Greek word. But some doubted, but not for long. And Jesus came and said to them, and by the way, as I read this next sentence, nobody talks like this unless they're the God of the universe or they're a lunatic.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Who can say that besides the Lord God Almighty? This is Daniel 7 language. The heavenly Son of Man in Daniel 7, his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away.

I mean, I guess Stalin and Hitler and others have talked like this, but they've been stark raving mad. And it's not just a little authority, do you notice? All authority, not just on earth. I mean, Jesus had authority on earth during the Incarnation, that's true.

He could cast out demons, he could heal the leper, he could heal Simon Peter's mother, he could raise people from the dead. He had authority on earth, but now it's broadened to in heaven, head over all things.

What a declaration. The Father had given him such a great commission, as it were, and he fulfilled it. No wonder it says in Philippians 2, therefore God also highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

All authority Jesus has over heaven and earth. I mean, can you imagine what he's going to say next? You know this if you're a Christian, what does he say? Go therefore and make disciples, verse 19, of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Here's Jesus. Now think about this for a second. He's got a motley crew of disciples. He has no money, no power, no armies, no chariots, and he says to them, I've got authority over everything, go take over the world.

Take over the world and tell them about me, and you have my authority to do that very thing. That is amazing. World conquest. Take it over. And you're going to need to have his power, you're going to need to have his authority because how could these men who just ran off after Jesus was crucified as cowards take over the whole world, but Jesus now empowers them, and the ladies as well, and says go make disciples.

How could you ever do that on your own? You couldn't, and that's why the Lord says, but lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. As you go to every nation, every place, I am always with you, I'll never leave you.

So when we look at Matthew, you see the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the response is go tell people about it. It's a commissioning, and so that's your commission, dear Christian, that because this is true, because people have eternal souls, because people will die one day, and because God loves sinners, and because you love sinners, you are to tell them about who Jesus is.

You are to warn them, and of course in today's society, this sounds crazy and kooky. It's fine if you want to keep it to the church service on Sunday, but who are you to tell me that I'm sinful, and I need a savior, and that Jesus is the only savior?

That's how this goes down, but this is what the Lord Jesus has said for his church to do. I mean, if you can make yourself get up out of the grave, I will do what you say, and he says go tell people. You say, but I'm weak, I can't really do this on my own.

The same Emmanuel that was born, Matthew 1 .23, Emmanuel, God with us, is the Emmanuel who is with us when we tell other people the good news. I love to tell people, you know, you can be forgiven no matter what you've done, no matter how often you've done it, you can be forgiven and have the hope of heaven.

Wouldn't you like to be forgiven? That is a great message. My old pastor used to say when he would be on airplanes, and he was studying, working on sermons, and you know, there's two people you don't want to sit by if you're flying, and you're not a Christian.

One's a pastor, and the other's an insurance salesman. One for one reason, one for another. And so you kind of lead up to it, you know, people ask me, well what do you do, well I'm a professor, or I'm a teacher, I mean let's just cut to the chase and get to the point.

And so my old pastor used to say, well thanks for asking, I'm a pastor and I get to fly all around the world and tell people you can have all your sins forgiven in Christ Jesus alone, are you interested?

And then if they said no, it's back to work. But if they said yes, okay, let's engage, you can be forgiven. What kind of masochistic person would know about how you can have all your sins forgiven and to be reconciled with God, and then not go tell people?

Especially as you tell people the Lord Jesus is with you. The point of the resurrection in Matthew 28, of course, is to confirm Jesus' words. Of course it is to see how he's Lord over death and hell and sin.

But the response for you is to tell other people. We had some people once come to the church, we had some Jehovah's Witnesses come to our church to do some proselytizing and I thought, while I think your message that Jesus isn't God is blasphemous, I can't recall going to a Jehovah's Witnesses kingdom hall and knocking on the door and saying, by the way, I have some good news for you.

And when people come to your door and knock and say, you know what, we're with a different religion, I always ask them this, do you have any good news? What's your good news? Well, you know what, you can be forgiven.

What do I have to do? Just join our club, just give some money, just go door to door, just be good. And I say, I've tried that, I've tried that, I've tried that, I still fall short. And then finally I say, but I have some good news for you.

That God demonstrates his own love toward us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. Well, that's Matthew. Now let's turn to the end of Mark, Mark 16. If the first one was a commissioning, what's this one?

This is why I don't do alliteration, because I couldn't find a word that started with C. The response is going to be a supernatural fear. No one can do this except God. And so if you look up fear, you cannot find a word that's a synonym that begins with a C.

So I'm going to use confounding. Okay, concerning. It doesn't matter as long as you get that the response to the something supernatural was fear and awe and respect and worship. While Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, now Mark writes to a very Gentile audience that talks about a servant Jesus.

Matthew's writing about a king, and now Mark writes about a servant. It's the same resurrection, but from a different theological viewpoint. Mark chapter 16, verse 1. And when the Sabbath is over, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Jesus.

So Jesus is dead. He's in the tomb. Of course, things happen to your body regarding decay, and they wanted to love him and show respect to him. They should have been thinking, by the way, that Jesus has said that I'm going to raise myself from the dead, but they weren't thinking that.

They should have been. Sabbath has passed. Now they can go out. Let's anoint him so the decomposition process is offset some. And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

As one man said, sorrow wakes early. It's very early, just after sunrise. And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? This is a bigger job than what three ladies can do.

It tells you something about the stone's size. And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. Now usually there's the opening to the cave, and then there's like a little incline or a decline.

You take the stone. There's a large round stone, and there's a little groove there, and it's almost like sliders in the back of your house. And it just slides down that little groove and then is laying up against part of the other stone that's there, and you can't really move it because you have to roll that stone up the hill.

And it's big, and it covers this hole where people could go in and out of. Who rolled the stone away? Notice verse four. Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.

Was it tomb robbers? No, I don't think so. That's right. No, wasn't that sweet? Was it tomb robbers? No. They would have taken the clothes, by the way, if they were tomb robbers. The special measures that the Romans had for the protection of someone saying, Jesus is no longer in the tomb, he's out of the tomb, and we've got to squelch this.

They would have secured that. Why was it rolled away, by the way? So Jesus could get out? No, the Lord Jesus has shown already that he, with his resurrected body, can walk through doors. Why do we need to roll that thing away so he can get out?

No. So they can get in. So they can get in and see that there's no Jesus there. Verse five. Entering the tomb. I mean, how else would they have gotten in unless that stone had been rolled away? They saw a young man sitting at the right.

Little antechamber there, wearing a white robe, and they were amazed. Yes, because you think you're going to go in and put myrrh and spices on a decomposing body. They're dumbfounded. They're alarmed.

And what does the angel say? Verse six. Do not be amazed. You're looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, here is the place where they laid him. He's been raised.

One Greek word. Maybe the greatest miracle to ever happen. Don't you love Mark? It's almost kind of like slave language, servant language. It's just truncated. It's almost like Genesis 1. In the beginning, God.

Here we have, he's raised. It's just very much marked by an absence of argument. This is not a debate. It's an announcement. Verse seven. But go tell his disciples and Peter, he's going before you into Galilee.

There you will see him just as he said to you. Mark chapter eight. I'm going to die and be raised from the dead. Mark chapter nine. I'm going to die and be raised from the dead. Mark chapter ten. I'm going to die and what?

Be raised from the dead. He said this very thing would happen. What's the response to the resurrection? In Matthew, it's here's the commission. In Mark, it's fright because of the supernatural. They went out, fled from the tomb for trembling and astonishment had gripped them.

And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid. And that's an imperfect tense. They were afraid and they were afraid and they were more afraid. And they didn't get unafraid until much, much later.

Now, if you look at your Bibles in Mark chapter 16, verse nine, it'll show you maybe some little notes and little italics and other things that maybe there's a longer ending to Mark. This is the ending of Mark, but people don't like it because it's so truncated.

What do you mean? We're going to end the gospel of good news about forgiveness where they're afraid? What's the point? Well, here's the point. When you read all the gospel of Mark, every time something supernatural occurs, people are what?

No big deal. No, supernatural afraid. Supernatural afraid. Let me give you a few of these things that have happened in Mark. I'll just read them to you in Mark chapter four. Jesus is on the boat. He says to the wind and the sea, be still.

Peace. The wind ceased and there was a great calm. And he said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still have no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and sea obey him?

You're in a boat. You're afraid. Waves. Tempest. Wind. And now Jesus calms the sea. And now they're even more afraid. Why are they more afraid? Because as we have been taught, there's something more fearful than a storm outside your boat.

And that is when you have the God of the universe inside your boat and you recognize him. He's the Lord. It's like the lightning flashed. And now while everything's bright in the middle of the night, you see him for who he is.

And they're afraid. Very much afraid. The Greek says they feared a great fear. Only God could control the sea. I always loved Kim's brother when he was younger and he said this verse. Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

That's a good question. It has to be God. Wait a second. God's in our boat. We're afraid. Same thing. Jesus in chapter 5 in Mark casts out the demons and legion and running around this man was night and day, cutting himself, crying out.

Can you imagine the blood that's all over him and the dried blood? And he, Jesus, gets out of the boat and this demon-possessed man runs to him and falls down. Jesus casts out this demon into a herd of pigs with all the other demons.

And now this demon-possessed man who used to run around in a crazy fashion is seated, clothed in his right mind, and the text says they were what? The disciples were what? I would be relieved. I've been around some crazy, seemingly possessed people in Los Angeles especially.

Maybe in Fitchburg. And finally, when the cops come and put the cuffs on, I say to myself, but now this man is whole and right and he's sitting there at the feet of Jesus and the text says they were what?

Afraid. Why? Because what's more frightening than a demon-possessed naked man? Jesus is standing there. Mark chapter 5 goes on to talk about a woman who had a discharge of blood and Jesus heals her and she came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.

My response to 12 years of bleeding probably would have been, you know what? Nobody can ever heal me and he finally did. Thank you. But her response was fear. So here's the paradigm in Mark. When something supernatural happens, there's fear.

So go back to chapter 16 verse 8. Chapter 16 verse 8 gives us the clue. There's been a resurrection and they said nothing to anyone, chapter 16 verse 8, for they were afraid. They've been stunned by the resurrection.

The encounter with a divine person. And they're undone. They're confounded. And I think what the writer of Mark's gospel wants you to do is this. It just stops abruptly. Just truncated. And now you have to say to yourself, do I really believe this is true?

Do I really believe the claims of Jesus and how he's the eternal God and he adds humanity, he lives a perfect life, he dies on the cross for my sins. My sins are trespasses and iniquities and I'm going to get judged one day but Jesus is judged in my place.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And now I can trust in this Jesus. And how do I know Jesus is right? What about Muhammad? What about Buddha? What about Confucius? Well, Jesus is right because he raises himself from the dead and they stand afraid.

Sinclair Ferguson said, the closing verses of Mark's gospel leave us with some fundamental questions about Jesus and our relationship to him. That is exactly what the gospel was intended to do. True or false?

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. True. And that's what Mark wants you to think. So Matthew gives a great commission. Mark has a response of fear and belief. This is the eternal God. Well, let's go to Luke 24 and see what Luke says.

And of course, remember young people, the pastor, if he has four points, the first two are always slower, right? So for 30 minutes in, and I've done two points, I know your extrapolations are happening, but they are not true.

I've always thought to myself as a pastor, what's worse? Having too much information or not enough. And I think if you've been here for more than one year, you know my answer. Why are there four gospels?

They're just different perspectives with different nuances and even different responses of the same historical event. You see Jesus and Matthew and you think, I need to tell other people about him. You see Mark and you say, I need to deep down in my heart believe this is true.

This is the eternal God. I'll meet one day. And I wanna meet Jesus as a friend and not as the prosecutor. Well, what about Luke? Luke is this Gentile physician. He writes in a very specific way. He writes in a courtroom kind of way where at the very beginning of chapter one, here's my list of witnesses and I'm gonna write a detailed, precise account that would hold up in a court of law.

He details the resurrection very vividly in chapter 24, verse one. But on the first day of the week, Luke 24, verse one, at early dawn, they went to the tomb taking the spices they had prepared and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

And when they went, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. And they remembered his words and returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the 11 and to all the rest.

Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary, the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. But these words seem to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.

But Peter Rose ran to the tomb, stooping, looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves and he went home marveling at what had happened. Verse 13, that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem.

And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, what is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk? And they stood still looking sad. Then one of them named Cleopas answered him, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there and in these days?

What things? And they said to him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people and how our chief priest and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, crucified him.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did not find his body, they came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.

Some of them who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him. And Jesus said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And here's our point in Luke's account in verse 27. Commissioning, confounding, and now confirming. And beginning with Moses and the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures, that is the Old Testament, the things concerning himself.

Do you see it? What's the point of Matthew? Go make disciples. What's the point of Luke? Have supernatural response with fear. What's the point of Luke? Did I just say Luke or Mark? What's the point of Mark?

Supernatural fear. Glad I caught myself. But you translated for me, did you not? I knew you knew. Luke's response is, this should have not surprised you because back with Moses, back in the Torah, back in the Old Testament, this Jesus was prophesied to come.

This just confirms. The Old Testament is about the Lord Jesus. That's amazing. He says in verse 38, Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, and it is I, myself.