Scripture: Luke 24:1-12
Easter – March 31, 2024
It all comes down to this…3 seconds left in the 4th quarter; the home team is down by two. The coach calls a timeout and sends his star field goal kicker onto the field. The team takes their positions, the referee blows the whistle, the ball is snapped, the kick is up…and it’s good! The crowd goes wild. At least half the crowd goes wild. The other half leaves in defeat.
It all comes down to this…you’ve been carrying around this ring for weeks. You know you want to marry her, she’s the love of your life. You have it all planned out, the special restaurant, the perfect song, the beautiful flowers, the right words to say. It’s time – you take a knee, look her in the eyes and ask her to marry you. Now it’s up to her to say yes or no.
It all comes down to this…you haven’t been feeling well for a while. The doctor has been trying to figure out what’s wrong. They’ve run a bunch of tests. You’ve been waiting now for what seems like years, although it’s only been a few days. And now, you’re back at the doctor’s office. He wants to deliver the news in person. It seems like your life hangs in the balance. Those test results will reveal a major turning point in your life.
It all comes down to this…you’ve waited for that 14-week ultrasound. It seems you can’t wait any longer. You know your life is about to change dramatically, you just want to know if it will be pink, blue, or two. The ultrasound tech does her magic. What a great day for a new mom and dad.
‘‘It all comes down to this.’’ That phrase points to a defining moment. It calls to mind a critical stage in your life, a momentous or important occasion. In other words, this is what you’ve been waiting for.
This morning, as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, I want you to know this is one of those times. It’s a defining moment. It all comes down to this…Please turn again to Luke 24:1-12 (p. 831).Today I want you to see two important realities about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1. It’s the most important event that ever occurred, vss. 1-8.
The account of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is one that changed the world. It is the most important event that has ever occurred, and the most important historical event ever told.
Jesus’ birth was normal, but it was unique. He was born just like you were born. He was born of a woman. His mother went through the normal process of pregnancy and delivery, “probably even craved pickles and ice cream and wanted to run to Wal-Mart at 2 am.”
But His birth was totally unique. He wasn’t just born of a woman; He was born of a virgin. He was totally untainted by the sin nature that each of us inherit at birth.
His death was typical of Roman executions. Jesus wasn’t the first person to be crucified by Rome and He wasn’t the last. In fact, He was crucified between two criminals that day.
But His death was totally unique. For in His death, He paid the price for your sin and my sin, every sin of this world. He satisfied the judgment of God against sin and purchased salvation for all who turn to Him in faith.
His resurrection, now that’s completely unique right? Well, sort of. I mean, we don’t see that today. But as you read the gospels you realize that He was not the only one to rise from the dead.
Everywhere Jesus went He seemed to interrupt a funeral. He turned funerals into festivals because He raised so many back to life. He even empowered His disciples to raise the dead. So, His resurrection is not completely unique.
But it is totally unique. Because everyone else that was raised from the dead died again! Their resurrection from death was temporary. Not Jesus, His resurrection is final and complete. He rose again and He is alive forevermore.
There are 4 major religions: Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Each rest on a historical personality: Buddha, Mohammad, Abraham and Jesus Christ. Over the tomb of Buddha you write, ‘‘occupied.” The same with Mohammad, Abraham. However, over the tomb of Jesus you write, ‘‘He is not here. He is risen!’’
Listen again to Luke 24: “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” (Luke 24:5b-7).
Don’t miss it. It all comes down to this. Jesus Christ is risen. He conquered death, hell, the grave and all of His enemies. He’s triumphant, victorious and glorious. The life of Jesus is the only biography that does not end with death and burial. His biography never ends!
A Sunday School teacher wanted to teach the kids in her class an important lesson. So, she got three jars and put several earthworms in each jar. In one jar, she poured alcohol. In the other jar she put cigarette smoke, and in the last jar, she put sugar. She took those jars to her class and showed them to the kids. In each of those jars, every single worm had died. She asked her class, ‘‘Who can tell me the lesson we learn from these worms and these jars?’’ One little boy spoke up and said, ‘‘If you drink a lot, smoke a lot, and eat a lot of candy…you won’t get worms.” It seemed like that little boy missed the point. And today, please don’t miss the point. It all comes down to this…Jesus is alive!
2. It’s the most important decision that you will ever make, vss. 9-12.
Not only is this the most important event that ever occurred, it’s also the most important decision you will ever make. It all comes down to this. You are faced with a choice, believe in faith and experience a complete transformation of life, or turn away in disbelief and reject Jesus. This is the most important decision you will ever make.
“And returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven 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 seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened” (Luke 24:9-12).
The women who heard of the resurrection ran to announce it to the disciples. They went to tell the others. In other words, they believed that Jesus was alive, and they went to tell somebody.
But notice these tragic words, ‘‘they did not believe them.’’ Is that you? Sadly, some of you are going to hear these words today, you’re going to hear about Jesus Christ, His birth, life, death and resurrection, and you’re going to do the same thing. You will walk out of this building after hearing this amazing story, and you’re still not going to believe.
Let me challenge you today to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. This is not a fairytale, a myth or a legend. This is reality. Check it out for yourself. Read the accounts. The same Jesus that rose again from the dead lives today, and He can live within you through the Holy Spirit of God.
They did not believe. Notice though how verse 12 begins. ‘‘But Peter…’’ The others didn’t believe but Peter did. Some of you will hear of the empty tomb today and still walk away in unbelief. Others of you will come to see for yourself. What you will discover is that Jesus Christ is who He says He is, He’s done what no one else could do, and best of all, He offers forgiveness and salvation to you today.
A young man was on his way to visit a friend named John who lived on a farm. He entered the farm and began to meander up the road that led to his friend’s home. He had to pass by a barn and as he got near to it, he stopped, perplexed. He saw something that both mesmerized and stupefied him. On the barn were twenty targets. In the middle of each target was a bull’s-eye, and in the middle of each bull’s-eye was a hole.
Someone had used the barn as target practice and whoever it was, was a crack shot. There were no other holes on the barn except the holes in the bull’s-eyes, centered in the targets. He couldn’t believe it. He started back up the road to the house.
When he met up with John at the house, he said, ‘‘Before we begin our day together, I’ve just got to ask you, who in the world did the shooting on the barn?’’ John said, ‘‘Well I did.’’ The man looked surprised and said, “Wait a minute! There are twenty targets, with twenty bullseyes, with twenty holes in each bullseye. You mean to tell me you did that?’’ John said, ‘‘Yep, I made every shot.’’ ‘‘Where in the world…how in the world did you learn to shoot like that?’’ John said, ‘‘It’s simple, I shot first, then I painted a circle of the target around the hole.’’
A lot of us are just like John. Maybe we know the right words to say; maybe we know how to dress up for church on Easter. But it’s not so much that we’ve hit the bull’s-eye, we’ve just learned to paint well. It’s possible to go through the motions and not live a life on target.
You have a choice to make. It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make. It all comes down to this. This is a moment that changes everything.
You’re faced with the reality of the gospel. The perfect and sinless life of Christ, His death for you on the cross, His victorious resurrection and His offer of salvation. You must make a choice. You can see for yourself and respond in repentance and faith, or you can hear the story, choose not to believe and remain unchanged, unsaved and under God’s judgment.
This changes everything; it is that moment that separates victory from defeat, winning from losing, life from death.
Conclusion
TheDuke of Wellington (picture) commanded the victorious forces at the great battle of Waterloo that defeated Napoleon. When the battle was over, Wellington sent the great news of his victory to England. A series of stations, one within sight of the next, had been established to send code messages between England and the European continent. The message to be sent was ‘‘Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.’’ But a fog set in and interrupted the message sending. As a result, people only saw the news of ‘‘Wellington defeated…’’ Later, the fog cleared, and the full message continued, which was quite different from the outcome that people originally thought had happened!
The same is true today. When many look at what happened on Good Friday at the death of Christ, they only saw ‘‘defeat.’’ Yet, on Easter, at the Resurrection, God’s message was completed. The resurrection spelled ‘‘victory.’’ And how you respond to His resurrection and offer of salvation will determine whether you experience victory or defeat.
Recently, I came across a paragraph from a letter written by a pastor in Pennsylvania who was dying of cancer. Until he was stricken at age 55, he’d never faced his own mortality. During the three years before his death, he wrestled with all the sermons that he’d preached about grace, salvation and eternal life. But now, at the age of 58, he was about to die, and he had to find out if all those sermons had been true. The following paragraph comes from a letter he wrote shortly before his death:
All my life as a pastor I have been preaching the promises of the resurrection of Christ and the power of his atoning death. So far, I have been distributing faith’s checks; now I’m starting to cash them for myself—to find out if they are really negotiable. And I have come to a very personal conviction. It is that facing our own dying incomparably improves the quality of our own living. King David ended his twenty-third Psalm with the assurance that he would “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” For me what that means is that I, along with all those who have gone before me, am just outside the door of the fullness of God’s grace in life everlasting. For me, Easter has already arrived!
A faith that doesn’t help you when you’re dying won’t be much good when you’re living. When Jesus walked out of the tomb, all the people of God walked out with him! Jesus conquered our last enemy. He solved the problem of death forever because He entered the realm of death on our behalf and came out on the other side holding the keys of death and hell in His hands!
Is it true? If a man dies, will he live again? Yes! Yes! Yes! Here is the answer to the greatest question, the deepest question, the final question. All of us will face death someday. But for those who know Jesus, death holds no fear. We’re not afraid of the darkness for Jesus is the Light of the world.
We don’t fear the valley of the shadow of death for Jesus has said He will be our guide. It’s just a shadow and He takes us through the valley. We may die, but we won’t stay dead. Jesus has the keys. He conquered death and God’s Word promises for all who have trusted Him, “absent from the body, present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Some day you’re going to hear that Scott Carson is dead but I’m not. I’ll be more alive than I have ever been. And if you know Jesus, that’s true of you too!
Jesus died on the cross. He paid for all of your sin. It’s your move now. Jesus rose from the dead. It’s your move now. God has answered your deepest questions with the simplicity of an empty tomb.
On this wonderful Easter morning I declare to you that Jesus Christ is alive. My friend, what will you say to that? What difference does it make to you? Will you give him your heart and your life? Will you trust him as Lord and Savior? It’s your move.
David Seamands (picture) told of a Muslim who became a Christian. When his friends asked him why he made that decision, he told them, “Suppose you were going down a road, and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go. Then you saw two men at the fork, one dead and one alive. Which one would you follow? I decided to follow the man who is alive.”
That’s what every Christ-follower has done. We’ve followed the Man who is alive. Here’s a good test that will help you know which religion to follow: Find the religion whose founder rose from the dead. That’s the true religion that comes down from heaven. Only one religion meets that standard—Christianity—because only one man in history meets that qualification: Jesus Christ. Follow him and He will lead you to heaven.
My friend, if you don’t know Jesus, or if you aren’t sure, there is no better time than Easter Sunday to put your trust in Him. Here’s a very simple prayer that you could pray to express the desire of your heart. If you sense God is calling you to come to Christ, and if you truly want to know him, this prayer could change your life.
Now prayer isn’t magic. We aren’t saved by a prayer. We’re saved by faith in Christ alone. But a prayer like this can express the faith that reaches out to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I confess that apart from your grace, I will never go to heaven. Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe that You died on the cross for me. Thank You for taking my punishment and dying in my place. I believe You rose from the dead on the third day. With all my heart, I trust You as my Savior and Lord. Come into my heart and save me now. I gladly receive your gift of salvation. Amen.”
This morning if you prayed that prayer to the Lord, here are three things you can do.
- If you have a bulletin, write your name and today’s date as a reminder of your commitment to Christ today.
- Note it on your Connection Card so that we can pray for you.
- Tell someone else that you “prayed the prayer” and that Jesus is now your Lord and Savior. Share the good news with someone so that you can encourage them. Your faith will grow, and your doubts will vanish as you tell others what Christ has done for you.