The Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Introduction:  

      There are numerous kinds of stories. Some stories are worth hearing and some are not. Some stories should be told once or twice. Some stories should be told repeatedly. Some stories entertain. Some stories teach. Some stories inspire. I want to tell you a story. It is a familiar story, but it is the most powerful story ever told. It is a story we should learn. It is a story we should repeat. It is a story we should tell our children. It is a story we should tell ourselves often. We must never forget this story.

Discussion:

I.         The Passover and the Lord’s Supper

A.      Our story begins on a day of Memorial and celebration, nearly 2000 years ago. Many Jews had gathered to Jerusalem for the Passover, the feast that memorialized Israel’s deliverance from Egypt nearly 1500 years earlier. They killed the Passover lamb reminding them of the lamb whose shed blood covered the Israelite doorposts causing God to spare their firstborn sons. As they ate, they recalled the great power of God that delivered them from oppression and slavery. Many would pray that God do so again, delivering them from Roman oppression.

B.     On that very day, Jesus and His disciples gathered for the Passover meal. But Jesus did not pray for deliverance from Rome, He told of the coming deliverance from sin by establishing a new memorial. Within the Passover, He offered His disciples some of the unleavened bread and said an amazing thing, “Take eat, this is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; I Corinthians 11:24). Then He offered them the fruit of the vine, having already divided it up among them (Luke 22:17) and said, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:24-25; Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25).

C.     Following this new memorial, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, demonstrating the great service His disciples should render to each other (John 13:1-20). Then He explained that one of his very own disciples would betray Him. The men could not fathom this, they discussed among themselves who it could be (Luke 22:23) and each asked, “Surely not I, Lord” (Matthew 26:22; Mark 14:19). Then Jesus signified that it would be Judas Iscariot by dipping a morsel of bread in the herbs and giving it to him. As He did so, Jesus said, “What you do, do quickly.” Yet, the other disciples did not understood what Jesus was doing (John 13:18-30). I wonder how Judas must have felt. He certainly could see that Jesus knew what was in his heart.

D.     Following the supper, Jesus taught His disciples of the Holy Spirit who would come to them and of the life of true fruit bearing disciples (John 14-16). Finally, He prayed for His disciples that they would be strengthened and united and that their word would draw many to Him and those who believed on Him would be united (John 17). Then, after singing a hymn, Jesus and His disciples walked to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39; John 18:1).

II.       Betrayal and Jewish Trials

A.      At the Mount of Olives, Jesus turned to His disciples, shocking them further by saying, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee” (Matthew 26:31-32; Mark 14:27-28; Zechariah 13:7). The disciples were incensed at this statement and unanimously declared they were prepared to die with Jesus that very night if necessary. These men were certain that Jesus was the Christ, the coming Messiah who would rid them of Roman oppression. They were prepared to stand and fight with Him, to deliver their people. Peter stood out and declared that all others may fall away but he would never do so. But Jesus warned him that not only would he desert Jesus, he would verbally deny Him three times (Matthew 26:33-35; Mark 14:29-31).

B.     Jesus led His disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane. He asked eight of His disciples to sit for awhile as He led Peter, James and John further into the Garden. There He directed them to pray that they not enter temptation. As Jesus went even further into the Garden, He prayed to His father, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will” (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36). When He came back to His inner circle of disciples, He found them sleeping. He rebuked them and directed them to pray that they would not enter temptation. Then He returned to His own prayers twice more and after each time He found the three disciples sleeping again. After His third prayer, Judas Iscariot arrived in the Garden. However, he was not alone. He had brought a crowd with swords and clubs. He had brought representatives from the Priests and the Jewish council. He even brought Roman soldiers. He had told them that Jesus would be the one he greeted with a kiss. Can you hear the sadness in Jesus’ voice as He said, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Matthew 26:47-50; Mark 14:43-46; Luke 22:47-48; John 18:1-9)?

C.     Peter, having earlier sworn that he would die with Christ was ready to make good on his promise. Surely this was the moment when the Messiah would reveal Himself and begin to conquer the Romans. In a flash, Peter brandished his sword and attacked, cutting off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest. But Jesus rebuked Peter, telling him to put up his sword. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Further, did Peter not realize that if Jesus wanted to fight, He did not need swords? He could call legions of angels to wipe out His enemies. Yet they must allow all of this to happen in order to fulfill the scriptures. Then, with amazing mercy, Jesus healed Malchus’s ear (Matthew 26:51-56; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:51; John 18:10-11). Jesus rebuked the cowardice of this crowd for coming under the cover of darkness instead of arresting Him while He taught in the city every day.

D.     The mob seized Jesus and carried him off to Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest. Annas had been high priest until removed by the Romans. His son-in-law, Caiaphas, was now recognized as the high priest by the Roman authorities and yet the Jews still recognized Annas as the power behind the priesthood. Annas questioned Jesus and when Jesus told him he ought to question those whom Jesus had taught, His beatings began. An officer nearby struck Jesus and rebuked Him for speaking to the High Priest in that manner. Jesus questioned the wrong He had done and then questioned why He had been struck. Following this Annas sent Jesus to the legal High Priest and the Jewish Council (John 18:12-24).

E.     In His trial before the Council, false witnesses whose stories could not be corroborated were brought forth. Finally, the high priest placed Jesus under oath saying, “I adjure you by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Having been placed under oath, Jesus broke His silence in accord with the Old Law (Leviticus 5:1) and said, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:67-71). At these words the high priest and the council accused Jesus of blasphemy and sentenced Him to death. It would indeed have been blasphemy, accept that it was true. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Having found a reason to condemn Him, the Jews then began to beat Him. They mocked Him, spit on Him, blindfolded Him and then began to slap and hit him. During this beating they had blindfolded Him and some would mock Him saying, “Prophesy to us who hit you” (Matthew 26:67-68; Mark 14:65). While all of this was occurring, Peter, who had claimed he was ready to die with Jesus, was questioned three times if he was one of Jesus’ companions. Three times he denied any relationship with Jesus. How heartrending it must have been for Peter when Jesus turned in His direction (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; John 18:25-27). How heartrending it must have been for Jesus that one of His closest friends abandoned Him. Then they took Jesus to Pilate and the Roman trials began.

III.      The Roman Trials

A.      Jesus was not before Pilate long before he learned Jesus was from Galilee. Not wanting to deal with these Jews and their internal affairs, Pilate blew them off and sent them to Herod whose jurisdiction included Galilee (Luke 23:6-12). Herod had wanted to see Jesus for some time, having been afraid that He was John the Baptist, whom he had killed, risen from the dead (Matthew 14:1-2; Luke 9:7-9). Herod’s greatest hope was that Jesus would perform a miracle. Jesus simply remained silent, neither answering questions nor fulfilling requests for miracles. Herod, along with his soldiers, began to mock Jesus. As part of their mocking, they dressed the prisoner in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.

B.     Pilate questioned Jesus further (Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:33-36). He could find nothing seditious in Jesus’ responses. Repeatedly he asked the Jews what evil Jesus had done. Finally, they said Jesus was trying to be the king of the Jews. When Pilate questioned Jesus regarding this, Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm” (John 18:36). Thus Jesus indicated that Pilate and Caesar had nothing to fear from Him regarding their political places and earthly reigns. Again, Pilate rebuked the Jews for accusing Jesus of evildoing (Luke 23:13-16). He offered to simply punish Jesus and then release Him since He had done nothing worthy of death. But the Jews would not hear of that. In addition to seeing Jesus’ innocence, Pilate did not want to harm Jesus because his wife had warned him not to have anything to do with Jesus; she had suffered in a dream because of Him (Matthew 27:19). Therefore, Pilate tried another approach. Offering the people a choice, who would they rather be released, Barabbas, a robber, convicted insurrectionist and murderer, or Jesus, the peaceful and perfect teacher of God’s will? Pilate was certain that given this choice the masses would cry out for Jesus’ release and Barabbas’s execution. However, he had underestimated the envy which drove the Jewish leaders. They stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas (Matthew 27:15-23; Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:18-23; John 18:39-40). Repeatedly the Jews asked for the release of Barabbas. “What should be done with Jesus?” Pilate cried. “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” was the Jews repeated response. Pilate allowed the Jews what they wanted, he delivered Jesus to be scourged and then crucified (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:24-25; John 19:1).

C.     When Pilate saw he would not be able to resist the people’s plea without causing a riot. He washed his hands ceremoniously before the people and declared that he was not responsible for Jesus’ blood but was innocent and simply granting the Jews their request. The Jews cried out, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:24-25). Then Pilate sent Jesus to be scourged (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1). A scourge was a dreadful sort of whip. It had a short handle with several heavy strips of leather attached. At the ends of the leather strips were solid balls that would batter the muscles, bruise on top of bruise. Along the strips of leather were sharp rocks, pieces of glass and/or shards of pottery. Jesus’ hands were bound together above His head. Then His bound hands were put on a hook just high enough that His feet would barely touch the ground. This made sure His skin was taught. As the scourge hit His back and wrapped around, the glass, rocks and pottery were sure to rip the tight skin from His body. Many died from the loss of blood such a flailing would cause. But Jesus endured as the Roman soldiers struck again and again and again and again. Finally, as Jesus body appeared to be nothing more than raw, ripped muscles with ribbons of flesh hanging down, the Romans let Him down. They were not finished however. The soldiers, mocking Jesus even more, fashioned a mock crown out of thorns and shoved it onto His head. They gave Him a reed as a scepter and draped a purple robe about Him. As they mockingly bowed before Him, they cried out, “Hail, king of the Jews.” Then they spit on Him, slapped Him and beat Him with the reed (Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2-3).

D.     Following this scourging, Pilate tried one last time to salve his conscience and let Jesus go. He presented Jesus before the crowd in order to repeat that he found no guilt in Him. The Jews responded, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God” (John 19:7). Pilate, being a superstitious Roman, was frightened by this statement and began to question Jesus further about where He was from. Was He really from heaven? He made greater efforts to get the Jews to allow him to release Jesus without trouble. But they responded, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar” (John 19:12).

E.     Hearing this Pilate brought Jesus out before the Jews again and said, “Behold, your King!” But the people cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him.” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:13-15). Finally, the robe, which was by now matted to Jesus’ bloody flesh, was pulled away, reopening the wounds that had started to congeal and they led Him off to be crucified (Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20; John 19:16).

IV.    The Crucifixion

A.      They led Jesus out bearing His own cross (John 19:17). However, weakened as Jesus was from the flailing He had received, He could not bear up under the heavy cross.  The Romans grabbed a man from the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, and forced him to carry the cross (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). A large crowd followed Jesus and Simon along the road. Among them were women who were mourning and lamenting. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:28-31). Thus Jesus again prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed because it rejected Him.

B.     Alongside Jesus, in fulfillment of prophecy, two criminals were also being led to their deaths (Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32; John 19:18; Isaiah 53:12). When they arrived at Golgotha, the soldiers, perhaps moved by a slight pity, offered Him wine mixed with gall, a cocktail that would dull the senses and lessen some of the extreme pain, but Jesus refused it, choosing a clear head over dulled pain (Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23). There they crucified Him, nailing His hands and His feet to the cross. Lifting the cross and dropping it into its place. The long slow process of death by cross began. This occurred the third hour of the day by Jewish reckoning, that is 9:00 AM by our reckoning (Mark 15:25).

C.     Just saying He was crucified does no justice to what Jesus endured. One physician describes what happened to Jesus during the crucifixion this way,

As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arms, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath.[1]

D.     Pilate had placed an inscription above Jesus’ head that read, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.” The inscription was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. The chief priests said, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” But Pilate responded, “What I have written I have written” (Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19-22). The soldiers who guarded these crosses had taken His outer garments and divided them up among themselves by casting lots for them (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23; Psalm 22:18). As Jesus hung there, His pain was not enough for the Jews at the foot of His cross. They began to hurl abuse at Him. Saying things like, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.” “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:39-43; Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35-36; Psalm 22:7-8). Even the thieves that surrounded Jesus hurled abuse at Him. However, in response to all of this abuse Jesus pushed through the pain and lifted His body to gasp enough air to utter, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

E.     In the moments when Jesus was able to draw on whatever strength He had to lift Himself, He made six other brief statements. Seeing His mother and the apostle John in the group of people watching the crucifixion. He pushed Himself up and said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son.” He pushed Himself up again and said, “Behold your mother” (John 19:27). Thus signifying that John was to care for Mary.

F.      While the priests, Romans and one thief hurled abuse at Jesus, one of the thieves was able to see the truth of the situation. Jesus was not dying because He sinned. He was dying innocently and unjustly. Then the thief demonstrated himself to be the only person, other than Jesus, who still believed Jesus was somehow going to be King and establish His kingdom. He rebuked the other thief and begged of Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” Jesus pushed Himself up again and gasped, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43).

G.     When Jesus had hung on the cross for three hours, at the sixth hour (12:00 noon) the sun was darkened for three hours, until the ninth hour (3:00 PM). Having hung on the cross for six hours and endured the darkness for three, Jesus pushed Himself up and cried out with as much strength as He could, “’Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Psalm 22:1). Indicating the true punishment of the cross. Jesus was not only enduring physical torment, but spiritual torment as well. Jesus, God the Son, who had enjoyed a fellowship with the Father that we can hardly fathom was separated from His Father because He bore our sins in His body on that cross (I Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4, 6, 11-12; Habakkuk 1:13).

H.     While all of this was taking place the crucifixion continued to take its toll on our Lord’s body. Dr. Truman explains:

He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart…The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. (cf. Psalm 22:14-15).

Jesus pushed up again and struggled to say, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). The soldiers brought some sour wine to Jesus.

I.         Knowing that all was complete, Jesus lifted Himself and made two final cries, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46; Psalm 31:5). Having said these things, He breathed His last and gave up His spirit (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30). Jesus yielded up His spirit. No one took it from Him. He gave it up of His own initiative (John 10:15-18). In this moment, a great earthquake took place. Tombs were opened and some of those who had been dead came to life and entered the city (Matthew 27:52-53). The veil in the temple separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was ripped from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Jesus had entered into the true Most Holy Place, made by God not men and made atonement for our sins in the presence of God the Father (Hebrews 9:11-14). The earthly temple with its separated areas was no longer necessary. A centurion at the foot of the cross, amazed by what he had witnessed exclaimed, “Certainly this man was innocent. Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47).

J.       The following day was a High Sabbath. That is, the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the weekly Sabbath were going to occur on the same day. They asked a special favor of Pilate not to leave the men hanging on the crosses through the Sabbath. Pilate acquiesced to their request. He sent the soldiers to break the legs of the three crucified men. With legs broken, they would no longer be able to lift themselves up to catch their breath. They would quickly suffocate. The soldiers broke the thieves’ legs, but when they came to Jesus and found Him dead, they did not break His. Instead, to be certain Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers plunged a spear into Jesus’ side. Blood and water spilled forth. The soldier had pierced the sac of fluid around the heart and the heart itself. Jesus was dead (John 19:31-35).

V.      The burial

A.      Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Jewish council, had not consented to Jesus’ execution. In fact, he had been a secret disciple. Following Jesus’ death this secret disciple stepped up to the plate and asked Pilate for a special favor. Usually the crucified criminals would simply be thrown into a mass grave. Joseph asked if he might have the body of Jesus and lay Him in his own family tomb. Pilate consented (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Isaiah 53:9).

B.     Joseph and Nicodemus, the Jewish council member who had questioned Jesus by night early in Jesus’ ministry, took the body of Jesus. Wrapped it in linen wrappings and perfumed it with spices. They laid the body of Jesus in Joseph’s tomb. Several of the women who had followed Jesus followed Joseph and Nicodemus and saw where the body was laid. They made their own decision that following the Sabbath they would more thoroughly prepare Jesus’ body for burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:54-56).

C.     On the following day, the Sabbath day, the chief priests and the Pharisees came to Pilate. They understood that Jesus had said He would be resurrected if He died. They did not really believe He would, but they were afraid the disciples would capitalize on this teaching, steal His body from the tomb and teach He was resurrected. That would cause an even greater problem than if Jesus had simply been allowed to live. They requested a guard to keep the tomb secure. Pilate granted their request. The guard was set and the tomb was sealed (Matthew 27:62-66).

VI.    The Resurrection

A.      Early on the morning following the Sabbath, the women who had seen where Jesus was buried went to apply the perfumes and spices they had prepared in order to properly embalm Jesus’ body for His burial. Their greatest concern was how they would actually get to the body. The stone would be too big for them. They wondered how they would be able to move it (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-3; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).

B.     However, while they were on their way, a great earthquake occurred because an angel of the Lord had descended and rolled back the stone from the tomb and sat upon the tombstone. The soldiers were struck with fear and became like dead men (Matthew 28:2-4). When the women arrived they simply found the stone rolled away (Mark 16:4; Luke 24:2; John 20:1). Seeing the tomb opened, Mary Magdalene feared the worst and ran back to the apostles and those with them, reporting that the Lord’s body had been taken (John 20:2). Peter and John ran to see the tomb with Mary trailing behind them (John 20:3). During this time, the other women had entered the tomb. The angels appeared to them and told them Jesus was not dead. His body had not been stolen. He had risen from the dead. Then the angel directed the women to go report this to the brethren and tell them to go to Galilee where they would be able to see the risen Savior for themselves. The women departed, speaking to no one and heading back to find the apostles and other disciples (Matthew 28:5-8; Mark 16:5-8; Luke 24:4-9).

C.     While the women were on their way to find the disciples. Peter, John and Mary arrived at the empty tomb. John arrived first, but only looked in from the cave opening. Peter went inside and then John followed him. They found the linen wrappings and the face cloth, but no body. What an amazing thing. If someone had stolen the body of Jesus, they first unwrapped it. The two men went on their way marveling and wondering (Luke 24:12; John 20:4-10). Mary lingered behind, standing outside the tomb weeping. She stooped to look into the tomb, where she saw two angels. They asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She responded, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognize Him. Jesus, like the angels asked, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Mary thought He was simply the gardener and said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus responded, “Mary!” Mary’s eyes were opened. She recognized her Master and Lord. She turned to Him, grabbing hold of Him and said, “Rabboni” which means “Teacher.” Thus Mary became the first to see and worship the resurrected Savior, not one of the apostles but a woman from whom seven demons had once been cast out. Jesus sent Mary to gather and find the apostles to tell them what she had seen (Mark 16:9-10; John 20:11-18). That same day the risen Savior appeared also to the other women (Matthew 28:9-10), to two men on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-31), to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34; I Corinthians 15:5) and to the remainder of the apostles, except Thomas (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:36-53; John 20:19-23). For the next 40 days, He appeared to the apostles (John 20:24-21:25; Acts 1:1-8; I Corinthians 15:15-17), to James (I Corinthians 15:7) and even to more than five hundred brethren at one time (I Corinthians 15:6). He taught them about His kingdom and then He ascended to His throne at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9). Where He is to this day. That is why we are here to worship and remember Him.

Conclusion:

      What a profound story. We must not let its familiarity cause us to forget how great a story it really is.  For all of the doctrines that we study and teach, let us never forget that this is the basis for everything we do and teach (I Corinthians 15:1-11).

Glory to God in the church by Christ Jesus
Franklin Church of Christ