The glory of the gospel of Christ is not simply that Jesus died for sinners - which is happily glorious in itself - but that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. For as Paul wrote, “if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in yours sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection of Christ is the glorious vindication of his work on the cross and forms one of the central pillars of the gospel itself. Examining what the New Testament writers teach about the resurrection we come to grips with the meaning and significance of the resurrection and we can learn several important applications to our daily lives.

So I'm here to speak about the death and burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, and I'm going to cheat the death and burial. I'll touch on them, But really the focus of this is on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Joel Beakey started us off talking about the blood of the atonement. I've nothing to add to the wonderful things that he said on Thursday night. So my focus is on the grave being empty, Jesus rising from the dead.

When I began working on this talk, I had originally planned to say that Christians didn't think about the resurrection enough on reflection. I don't think that's true. We think about the resurrection a lot. We pray to Jesus, so certainly we know he's alive, and the most important day on the Christian calendar would certainly be Easter, that's about the tomb being empty, and we talk frequently in sermons and among ourselves about Jesus being alive. It's on our bumper stickers, it's everywhere.

So we do think about the resurrection. What I think is actually true is that the resurrection isn't given the exalted status at being at the core of the gospel that the New Testament writers give it. The New Testament writers make the resurrection of Jesus Christ core to the Gospel. So it's not something that we like and appreciate and are happy about only. We do like and appreciate and we are happy about the resurrection, but it's not just that.

The New Testament writers make it core to the gospel. They don't think we have a gospel worth believing or worth preaching if Jesus is not raised from the dead. Let me give you a sign that this is so. I'm a pastor, I've been a pastor for a number of years, more than a decade now, and so I have the privilege of conducting baptism interviews and membership interviews. And One of the things that is part of our baptism interviews or membership interviews is asking the candidates, tell us the Gospel.

We don't want to baptize anyone who can't clearly articulate the Gospel along with their testimony, and we've gotten some of the most articulate renderings of what the Gospel is, the greatness and holiness of God, the neediness and desperate condition of man, how Jesus Christ bridges that tremendous gulf about how there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved. All of that would be something I would be proud to preach in their exact words from the pulpit and yet almost no one mentions the resurrection. They don't finish the sentence. We don't finish the sentence in our gospel, but the New Testament writers aren't guilty of that, and so I want to argue that we're disconnected from the heart of the New Testament writers and hopefully will reconnect us with their hearts so that the resurrection is core to our gospel as it was core to their Gospels. As we come to our topic, let's pray, ask the Lord to help us.

Jesus, living Savior, we worship you. You are alive. You're alive. We can know you, fellowship with you, have sweet and deep communion with you. The grave is empty.

You are knowable. Just cause these truths to be precious to us. Let your spirit be here helping us helping me to preach Helping my friends to hear Pray that you would Fall upon us who pray in Jesus name. Amen Okay, here's where we're going. Here's a roadmap for the time.

Number one, I'm going to speak about the historical facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, again with a focus on the resurrection. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John all give extensive accounts of the resurrection, so I'm going to start here with the historical facts. Then number two, I'm going to speak of the meaning of his death and resurrection. What is the significance of the fact that Jesus died, but more for me in this time that the grave is empty, that he was resurrected? What does that mean?

And then thirdly, I'll be speaking of the application of his resurrection. Who cares? Well, I care, we care that he has been raised from the dead, and it should actually matter to our daily lives, so we'll end with what we do with the great truth. So number one, the historical facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the history of this event.

This really happened. This isn't felt board Sunday school stuff, two-dimensional. This is three-dimensional. It happened in time and space. These events are real.

These are historical facts that we're talking about, and we're given great detail on these historical facts in all four of the Gospels. The crucifixion Texts are easy to do this with they're almost identical in Matthew Mark Luke and John It's actually more work to be done in Harmonizing and bringing together the four accounts when when we talk about the the resurrection Matthew if you read it and you're not aware of the other accounts, you get the wrong view. Matthew has a really compressed account. Matthew's been very selective in what he's put in and he's left a lot out that the other Gospel writers then take up. If you read Matthew and aren't aware that there are time gaps and event gaps that he hasn't selected for his account, you end up with the wrong impression.

So I'm giving you the harmonized account, bringing them all together. When Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit, the temple veil was torn from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and rocks split, and many bodies of saints were raised, and they came into Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection. What does that mean? That means that the resurrection was a million miles away from a quiet little event that was only on the minds of a few. Josephus says that the population of Jerusalem during the Passover would swell from something like 200, 000 to something like 3 million.

All of Israel came for this event. They were all there when the earthquake, when the temple veil was rent, when the rocks were split, when the many bodies of saints came up out of their graves and came into Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection. This was not a quiet event. There were three million, maybe something like that, in Jerusalem, aware of these things. A wealthy but secret disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, a council member who had not consented to Jesus's death, went to Pilate and asked for the body and laid it in a new tomb hewn out of rock and rolled a large stone against the door.

Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons, and other women followed so that they would know the location where the body was laid. And when they saw where the body was laid, they went and prepared spices and fragrant oils for the body, but because it was the Sabbath, they didn't go immediately to the body, they rested on the Sabbath. However, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea already had a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes prepared. So before the Sabbath, while the women were away preparing their spices and fragrant oils, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea already had their hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes, and so before the Sabbath, they bound Jesus' body in strips of linen with the spices. Undoubtedly unbeknownst to those women.

Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard that Jesus said he would rise after three days. So they went to Pilate and expressed their concern that the disciples would steal away his body and commit a fraud. They knew that Jesus had said after three days he was going to rise from the dead, and they were worried that his disciples were going to fool everyone by stealing away the bodies, so they went to Pilate, and Pilate gave them permission to use their own guard to secure the tomb, which they did. On the first day of the week, 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 it scared the guards half to death." Matthew 18 says, they became like dead men.

It's worth noting this angel was not letting Jesus out, he was letting witnesses in. You have to come away from these accounts knowing this. Jesus later is going to appear suddenly in a locked room. The stone before the door of the tomb was not a problem for the resurrected Lord Jesus. He didn't need anyone to let him out.

The witnesses needed to be let in. That's what this angel was doing. Very early in the morning, Mary Magdalene and other women came to the tomb bringing the spices they had prepared. At this point, it's necessary to say that the Gospel of John lets us know something we wouldn't know if we didn't have the Gospel of John. What is that?

It's that Mary actually makes two trips to the tomb. If you read Matthew, that compressed account where Matthew's been very selective, you would think that she only came once, but John makes it so clear that there were two trips to the tomb for Mary Magdalene. First she saw the empty tomb and she ran immediately to Simon Peter and John to say, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. Peter and John ran to the tomb and they found it empty with the grave cloths there and the grave cloth for his face neatly folded. They didn't know what to make of this, and they left, but Mary, having followed them, lingered outside the tomb and wept.

And when she looked into the tomb, she saw two angels who said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Then an angel comforted the women, Mary and those with her, and told them not to be afraid. Why do you seek the living among the dead? 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." Now, the angel who addressed Mary and these other women said that that he was raised from the dead as he said what when did Jesus say that well consider Matthew 20 17 through 19 Now Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify and the third day he will rise again." This is stunning detail. I mean, that is the perfect summary of what exactly what is getting ready to happen with a great level of detail, and he ends speaking to his disciples by saying, and the third day he will rise again. Of course, the Son of Man is what he calls himself here. It's his favorite self-designation.

It's the name that he calls himself more than any name in the gospel accounts. Better still, perhaps, is Mark chapter 8, 31 and 32. And Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again." Now listen to this, this is verse 32, Mark 8, 32. He spoke this word openly. Okay, so if we just had what I just read from Matthew 20, you might think that it was a little secret among Jesus and his disciples.

Mark 8 makes it plain that's not so. He was speaking this openly. He spoke this word openly. That's why the chief priests go to Pilate. That's why they are paranoid that the disciples are going to take the body and commit a fraud and want that tomb guarded.

Because there has been a public expectation set by the Lord Jesus. He has set a public expectation that He is going to die, but that he's not going to stay dead, that he's going to rise on the third day. So the women went quickly with fear and great joy to obey the angel and tell the disciples. And as they were going, Jesus met them. Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking? At first she thought Jesus was the gardener, until he said, Mary, rejoice! Her until he said, Mary, rejoice. And Mary and the women with her recognized him And Matthew 28 says that they worshiped at his feet. They worshiped at his feet.

They clung to his feet. Jesus told them again what the angel had already told them, that he was alive and that he was going before his disciples into Galilee, that they should go there, and he would meet with them there. And these women did go and told the disciples exactly what the angel and Jesus had told them to tell the disciples and they were not believed. They didn't believe until the resurrected Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We don't know who they were, but we know that there were these two men walking to Emmaus and What seems to be a stranger begins to walk with them and he Explains from the scripture how it was necessary for Jesus to die and rise again and then their eyes are open to recognize him they recognize him and then immediately he disappears he vanishes immediately that's that's what the text says in Luke 24 you find that in Luke 24 and immediately these disciples return to Jerusalem to speak with their fellow disciples and to tell them that they have seen Jesus.

Then they believe, except for Thomas, who wasn't there. And Paul actually says that afterwards, Jesus was seen by over 500 brethren at one time. Paul says, of whom the greater part remained to the present. In other words, you can go check this for yourself. Most of these 500 who saw Jesus alive at once are still alive and available as witnesses.

So those are the historical facts. That's what you get if you put Matthew beside Mark beside Luke beside John and pull these things together. That was major point number one, the historical facts. Major point number two, the meaning of his death and burial and resurrection. What is the significance?

Well, the New Testament writings give us three primary points of meaning or significance. First, Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection were the fulfillment of prophecy. Didn't come out of nowhere. God said what he was going to do, and then God did it. God said that he would send a savior to die To be a Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, but who would then be raised again.

That's not New Testament teaching. That teaching begins in the Old Testament. Jesus rising from the dead is the fulfillment of Promises made by God. And then he kept his promises, because he always keeps his promises. Isaiah 53, this great chapter of the suffering servant, speaks so clearly and plainly about the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, the just dying for the unjust, the innocent dying for the guilty.

Listen to verse 5, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed like a lamb to the slaughter." But also, Isaiah 53 talks about his remarkable burial. Even details about his burial are found in this Old Testament prophecy which is 500 years before the fulfillment of it. Five centuries before the fulfillment and Jesus rose from the dead we get this about his burial in verse 9 and they made his grave with the wicked but with the rich at his death because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." What's the significance of that?

Who cares if he was buried with the rich? Well the chief priests and the Pharisees cared. They had a burial planned for this one, and it was a shameful burial. It was a burial of contempt, It was a burial of murderers and thieves, but the father was having none of it. The father was giving him a burial of honor even though Those who killed him planned for him to have a burial of dishonor.

The father said no. He was buried with the wicked. He was buried with men, with sinners, But he was given a rich man's burial. This is Joseph of Arimathea who came to claim that body. The chief priests, the Pharisees, they couldn't predict that that was going to happen, and he was given a burial of honor.

Or listen to Jesus with these two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This is Luke chapter 24, 25 through 27. This is the resurrected Jesus speaking to these two disciples who don't yet recognize them, then Jesus said to them, oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? In other words, if you understood what the prophets had said, isn't this the expectation that you should have that Jesus would would suffer and enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself when you want to be there on the road to Emmaus hearing Jesus open up Moses and all the prophets concerning himself.

They looked back on that moment, those moments and said, did not our hearts burn within us? Or turn to Acts chapter 2. Acts Chapter 2. This is Pentecostal preaching in Acts Chapter 2, the day of Pentecost and Peter preaching to the people who have heard the tongues, heard God being glorified in their own languages and have have gathered to inquire into this curiosity and Peter preaches this magnificent sermon. I'm picking up in Acts chapter 2, 22, I'll read through 33.

Acts chapter 2 verse 22. Peter says, And men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad.

Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope, for you will not lead my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne.

He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear." Peter preaching talks about Jesus. He labels him the Messiah and then he quotes Psalm 16, a Psalm of David, Psalm 16 verses 8 through 11, and he says, this cannot be true of David. David is dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day this is about the Son of David the Messiah this is about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ by the way in Acts chapter 13 Paul is preaching to Jews and Pisidian Antioch in the synagogue, and he quotes the same Psalm, Psalm 16, and verses eight through 11 to make the same point.

God made these promises in the Old Testament, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the keeping of those promises. He's fulfilling these Old Testament prophecies. So that is the first subpoint here. First, Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection were the fulfillment of prophecy. Second, God declared Jesus to be his son with power by the resurrection.

Turn to Romans 1 verses 1 through 4. Romans 1 verses 1 through 4. This is beginning of a magnificent letter. This is what he says, what Paul says right off the bat in maybe his greatest work. The letter of Paul to the Romans.

Romans 1, 1 through 4. Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which he promised through his prophets and the Holy Scriptures, concerning his son Jesus our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh." Now here's the payoff. Verse 4 is it. Verse 4 is the point I'm making here. And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.

What is Paul saying? He's saying that the resurrection is a sermon by God the Father, A declaration by God the Father. What is the sermon being preached? Jesus is the Son of God. The resurrection is a declaration by God that Jesus is the Son whom He loves.

He is being declared to be the Son of God with power. That is what the resurrection is. We know that God's justice was satisfied by the death of Jesus. The wrath poured out against the sins of his people is quenched. How do we know that?

How do you know that it didn't fall short? The tomb is empty. That's how you know. You have no reason to have confidence that that wrath is fully satisfied, that it's all quenched, that there's nothing left for you to do if there's a body in that tomb. The resurrection is God's declaration that Jesus is His Son with power.

That's what the resurrection is declaring. Jesus said on the cross, it is finished. God said, that's true, by emptying that tomb. The sacrifice has been accepted. God put a great exclamation mark and stamp of approval on the work of Jesus Christ by the emptying of the tomb he's declaring to you that Jesus did his work that the sacrifice has been accepted that it is sufficient and now he has raised Jesus up to sit at his right hand in glory.

That would never happen if the sacrifice would have fallen short. There's a body in that tomb. You have no reason to have confidence that your sins are fully pardoned, that peace has been made. Thirdly, that was the second meaning. God declared Jesus to be his son with power by the resurrection.

Third, The resurrection of Jesus means that all who are in him will also be resurrected to glory. Therefore, it is at the heart of the good news. Paul argues this in 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. Please turn there.

1 Corinthians 15 is THE resurrection text. If you only get to pick one, then 1 Corinthians 15 is it. The whole chapter, essentially, is devoted. A 58-verse chapter is devoted to this. I'm going to read 1 through 23 and I'm gonna make comments as I go and it'll be clear when I'm doing that 1st Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 1.

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain." So here's where we are so far. This is my saving gospel. The gospel that's saved is what I'm getting ready to give you again. Three. "'For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." So twice in there, he says, according to the Scriptures.

In other words, saying what has happened in and through Jesus Christ is only what God promised to do and is the fulfillment and the keeping of his promises according to the Scriptures according to the Scriptures what is that that he died for our sins because God promised he would die for our sins and that he was buried and that he was raised from the dead according to the scriptures because God promised he would be raised from the dead. That is the irreducible distillation of Paul's gospel, meaning if you boil everything else out of it. It's not the only thing to be known, it's not the only thing that matters, but when you distill it all the way down to where you cannot reduce it anymore, this is what you get. Christ died for our sins and he was buried and he was raised from the dead. Most of us would stop short if we were to boil the gospel down, we would boil it down further and just stop with Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

That's not what Paul does. And he's going to argue why he believes it's fundamental to the gospel as we continue to go through. Now verse five. And that he was seen by Cephas, or Peter, then by the 12. After that he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, then last of all he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time." Paul is not relying on second-person accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul puts himself forward in 1 Corinthians 15 as a first-person eyewitness of Jesus Christ. He saw the resurrected Jesus Christ with his own two eyes and then he turned the world upside down. Verse 9, for I am the least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it was I or they, so we preached and so you believed." Now, see what he just did there. He just made the claim that this is not Paul's Gospel, this is THE Gospel. He's talking about the other Gospels and the Gospel that they preach and he's saying it's the same Gospel. So we preach and so you believed.

One gospel, one saving gospel. Paul's gospel is the gospel. Verse 12. Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, again, part of my irreducible Gospel is that Christ is raised from the dead. If Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not Raise up if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." What has Paul just done? The gospel totally falls apart without the resurrection. He's saying, go do something else if there's a body in the tomb. You're an object of pity if Jesus isn't raised from the dead. How do you know it's core to the gospel?

Because Paul says it falls apart without it. It has to be core. It has to be fundamental, foundational to the Gospel if it falls apart without it. What would the definition of core be if it's not that? Paul says, we have no Gospel to preach or to be believed.

It's not a saving Gospel if there's a body in that tomb. It all rises and falls on whether God declared his son, God declared Jesus Christ to be his son with power by raising him from the dead. The promises come to nothing without the resurrection. Verse 20, that now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. That's why Jesus said to Martha in John 11, John 11 is when He raises Lazarus from the dead. Here's what Jesus says to Martha right before he calls Lazarus the corpse forth from the tomb John 11 25 and 26 I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me though he may die he shall live And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

And then we get this wonderful confession of faith that I think is better than Peter's from Martha. How sweet. Not I resurrect, I am the resurrection. Life is in me. I don't do the best works.

Life resides in me. I don't resurrect, I am the resurrection. Jesus's resurrection has secured your resurrection. Your resurrection is only rooted in his resurrection That's why it's all meaningless without Jesus coming forth from the tomb Okay, I am out of time. Forget the applications except for one.

Turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1. You know, I think your introduction to me was too long. You must have taken up a lot of time. I think you probably took up 15 or 20 minutes.

You must have. Yeah. Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1 is worth the price of it I'm gonna start right in the middle of Paul's sentence don't don't worry about that my my point is not to get to the bottom of this full sentence, and there's a lot in there. My point will be obvious from the portion that I'm reading.

I'm reading Ephesians 1, verses 18 through 20. Starting in the middle of the sentence. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling. What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints? Where are we so far?

He wants you to be able to see with clarity that the eyes of your hearts being enlightened He wants you to be able to see with clarity the mound of riches that you have a right to if you're in Christ you it These have been marked out for you if you're joined to Christ by faith. You have a right to them. There's a mountain of them. And now he describes them. These riches that you have a right to.

Verse 19, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Brothers and sisters, if you're in Christ, resurrection power is being exhorted to help you and sustain you and encourage you and lift you up and build you up and carry you through the hardest circumstances that God has appointed for you for the work that he's given you to do. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is an inheritance that you have a right to lay claim to. The same power that made that tomb empty is available and being exerted, being actively exerted by God towards you to sustain you and build you up and empower you for the things that he brings to you in life, the work that he's given you to do and all the hardships. Don't worry about the hardships.

The power that emptied Jesus's tomb is being exerted to sustain you through those hardships. Praise the Lord. You have a right to it, it's your inheritance. And I believe that whether you claim it or not, God's exerting it towards you. I think we should lay claim to it and appropriate it to ourselves because we have a right to it.

I don't think God's waiting around for you to do it, though. He's exerting it towards you. How does he sustain all these weak people? How does he? He has the power to bring forth bodies from the tomb, that's how.

In Philippians 3, Paul said that he counted all things rubbish that he might gain Christ and know him and the power of his resurrection. Paul in Philippians 3 says, I'm just I'm an example of what I was talking about in Ephesians 1. That's in my life. All that stuff is rubbish to me. All the stuff that was gained to me is rubbish that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.

Here I am in all these hardships. Hardships like we may never know. He was sustained powerfully through those hardships. He knew the power of the resurrection in his own life. Brothers and sisters, here's the point.

We're not memorializing a dead hero. We're not, we are not memorializing a dead hero. This is not Memorial Day. Jesus is alive. His people know him and can know him better day by day by day and his resurrection power is being exhorted to to lift us up God thank you for the preciousness of this truth we don't want a gospel without the resurrection We want to lay claim to all that it has for your people.

I pray that you would give us hearts that rejoice in it. Oh, make us a happier people because of what we've seen in your word I pray in Jesus' name, amen.