Jesus is Alive (Easter 2023)
Easter 2023
Jesus is Alive
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his follower at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. 1 Corinthians 15:1-9
But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14
3 REASONS WE CAN BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS ALIVE:
1. Jesus said it would happen
After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. 23 He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief. Matthew 17:22-23
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. 18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Matthew 20:17-19
2 cornerstones of Christianity are; Jesus is God, and Jesus came back to life.
2. The Resurrection cannot be reasoned away
4 FALSE THEORIES AGAINST THE RESURRECTION
a. The Disciples “Stole the Body” Theory
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. John 20:19
So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:18-20
b. The “Roman or Jewish Officials Stole the Body” Theory
c. The “Wrong Tomb” Theory
d. The “Jesus didn’t Die” Theory
3. The resurrection = changed lives
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. Acts 1:14
WHAT DOES “JESUS IS ALIVE” MEAN FOR US TODAY?
1. In Christ I can have hope
2. In Christ I can have a new beginning