People sometimes break promises; God never does.
Ever been left with a broken promise?
- “I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”
- “The repairman will be at your house by 8:00.”
- “The doctor will see you shortly.”
- “I’ll always be there for you.”
Some broken promises can’t be avoided. After all, when we make promises we don’t know about traffic snarls or sudden illness. But whether the broken promise is a slight irritant—like forgetting to call a friend back—or a devastating blow—like a shattered marriage vow—when we experience enough broken promises, we may begin to question anyone’s ability to remain faithful to a promise. We can even lose hope.
Thankfully, God is not like us. God is always faithful—no matter what!
The reality of Jesus’ resurrection points to this great truth. By raising Jesus from the dead, God showed He makes the impossible possible. Nothing prevents Him from keeping His promise to us. God is faithful and will always do what He says. Jesus told us He would rise from the dead—and He did!
Let’s look at the resurrection of Jesus—that first day when Jesus came out of the tomb—and discover how we can have hope because God is faithful.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Skeptics often question the resurrection of Christ. But those who have objectively looked into it come away with a different conclusion.
- “I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.” –Thomas Arnold, Oxford University.1
- Harvard Law School professor, Dr. Simon Greenleaf, mocked Christians in his classroom until some challenged him to put the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus through the filter of the law. He took up the challenge and found the evidence so convincing he concluded the resurrection of Jesus is one of the most well-established facts of history.2
The evidence points to the resurrection of Jesus as a verifiable historical fact. This evidence also tells us something about God, the One who raised Jesus from the dead. Skeptics were present on that first morning of Jesus’ resurrection, but God’s faithfulness was also present.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Luke 24:1-3
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
At the beginning of Luke 24, resurrection was not on anyone’s mind; they certainly weren’t expecting it. Notice what the women were carrying as they came to the tomb: spices. These spices were not for cooking, however; they were to prepare their friend for His final burial.
The women were not expecting the stone to be rolled away from the tomb (see Mark 16:3-4); nor were they expecting the tomb to be empty. They knew they were at the right place. They had seen Jesus’ body placed there. (See 15:47.) But now, on the morning of the third day, they walked in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. We should not be surprised they were “perplexed” (Luke 24:4), since they didn’t find what they expected to find.
No one just walks out of a tomb. It’s impossible. But God makes the impossible possible.
If God were like us, His faithfulness would be limited by His ability. God could not be faithful to what He has said He will do if His ability, capacity, and power had limits or restrictions. But the empty tomb proves that God is not like us. Nothing restricts God in His ability and power to deliver, to do whatever He chooses to do. He makes the impossible possible.
God stepped into our time and space and made the impossible possible by raising Jesus from the dead. That changes everything. Since God could raise Jesus to life, He can do other seemingly impossible things: remove our sin and give us a new life that never ends.
What do you remember about your earliest encounters with the resurrection story?
Luke 24:4-8
4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. 5 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. 6 “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered his words.
The women were not left in their perplexed state. Two men—angels (see Matt. 28:5)—appeared and asked a single question: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” The men seemed almost incredulous about the women’s presence. You’re looking for Jesus, but you’re looking in the wrong place on this Sunday morning.
The men gave only one option for Jesus’ absence in this place of the dead. No one stole His body; nor did He revive from unconsciousness in the cool of the tomb. “He is not here, but he has risen!”
This shouldn’t have been a surprise to the women. The Gospel writers had highlighted numerous occasions when Jesus told His followers these things would happen.
- “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death” (Matt. 20:18).
- “Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke openly about this” (Mark 8:31-32).
Why do we sometimes doubt or forget what God has promised?
We know the disciples were listening because on one occasion Peter reacted and even rebuked Jesus: “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” (Matt. 16:22). On another occasion when Jesus told the disciples what was coming, “they were deeply distressed” (17:23). But God is faithful. The disciples could count on God’s faithfulness to carry through with what He had promised: the resurrection.
Scripture records almost nine thousand promises from God. We can trust the One who extended these promises to us because the empty tomb means God’s words and His promises are not empty. He does what He says He will do. The same faithful, powerful God who raised Jesus can take care of you.
The words spoken by these men jogged the memory of the women. “And they remembered his words.” On a Sunday morning that moments before had seemed so frightening, perplexing, and heartbreaking, these women realized the final, impossible promise from their Lord had come true. Jesus had risen from the dead!
Luke 24:9-12
9 Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things. 11 But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths. So he went away, amazed at what had happened.
What emotions come to the surface when you read this passage?
Rushing back to the others, “they reported all these things” to Jesus’ other followers. Unfortunately, the women’s report did not have the same effect on the Eleven or on the other people gathered with them. “These words seemed like nonsense to them.” They wrote it off as ridiculous, ludicrous, and inconceivable.
Consequently, “they did not believe.” “They” included the eleven remaining apostles, the ones who had walked closely with Jesus. These were Jesus’ closest friends, those who had spent the most time with Him. They heard everything He said, including the statements about His resurrection, yet in this moment, they were skeptics.
The empty tomb is proof positive—solid evidence that God is not bound by our unbelief. God did what He did because He is ultimately faithful to Himself. He does not have earthly limits, neither is He necessarily limited by our lack of faith. Faith is important, to be sure, but God can and sometimes will accomplish His plans and His purposes in spite of our unbelief or lack of faith. God is always faithful to Himself, His promises, and His purposes—and so you can believe He will always be faithful to you.
Peter was the apostle we often see saying or doing the wrong thing. But not this time. “Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb.” Instead of staying in doubt and unbelief, he got up and went to check it out for himself. He investigated. Peter chose to exercise what little faith he had left, and he found God to be faithful.
Let’s “retrain” our brains to think faith first. That means, no matter what happens, we maintain trust in our faithful God. Instead of doubting Him, we should immediately and automatically trust that God is in control—because He is.
If the resurrection didn’t happen—if Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead—then nothing in the Christian life matters. (See 1 Cor. 15:13-14.) But if the resurrection did happen—if the tomb is empty, and Jesus is alive—that changes everything. When we see the truth of the resurrection, our skepticism fades away as faith emerges. Fear is replaced with hope. We can trust in Jesus because He is alive. We have a heavenly Father who makes the impossible possible!
What are some possible responses to Jesus’ resurrection?
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LIVE IT OUT
How will you respond to the faithfulness of God this week? Choose one of the following applications:
- Believe. Jesus invites you to follow Him. If you have never trusted in Christ, place your faith in Him. Talk to someone in your group about your desire to believe and trust in Christ.
- Investigate. If you still wonder if the resurrection of Jesus is something we can count on, look into it for yourself. Read a book such as Risen Savior: The Search for Jesus’ Tomb by Charles Quarles or The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
- Trust. God is faithful to what He promised, and because of this, Jesus’ tomb is empty. Since God can handle something so miraculous and powerful as raising someone from the dead, trust Him with the struggles you are facing. Turn your cares over to Him. Trust in the One who is eternally faithful.
It’s okay to start out as skeptics, but we should be honest ones. And if we are, we’ll find that the faithful God who has always been there for us, will be in the future.
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Teacher Notes:
Video: Fireproof
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This class is named “The 2nd Half of Marriage Class” because for most of us, the kids are gone now and life is different, our marriage is different, our look on life is different. What advice would you give to this couple this Easter on how they might resurrect their marriage?
The Big Fight
"SIN"
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You know, the resurrection story is more than just an event that happened once in history – God showed His faithfulness then but He also shows it today.
Luke 24:1-8
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. 5 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. 6 “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered his words.
I want us to look this morning at the resurrection as a source of the power that we can experience in our life, every day. The same resurrection power that brought Jesus from death to life is available to each of us, and if we’ll tap into it, we can see and experience an amazing transformation in our own life, too.
The Apology
"Repent"
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Here are 7 ways we can experience resurrection power every day:
1. Use the power now, not just in heaven. Your hope of the resurrection isn’t just for the future when you physically die and go to heaven; it’s also for now, while you’re living on earth and struggling with sin. Make use of that God-given power to help you overcome sin right now, and every day you’re alive. Regularly confess your sins, repent of them, and embrace the forgiveness and grace God offers you to keep growing.
2. Trade religion for relationship. Instead of pursuing hope through performing religious rituals, believing right doctrines, or doing good deeds, realize that those things are valuable yet can’t produce hope. Place your hope in a dynamic relationship with Jesus. As you live for Him, relying on His resurrection power at work in your life, you’ll experience the fulfillment of all God’s good purposes for you. Instead of focusing on what you can do for God, focus on what God can do through you.
3. Set eternal priorities. Ask God to help you see your life from His perspective. Look beyond the world’s values (which are only temporary) to what has eternal value. Base your decisions – for all aspects of your life – on what matters most in eternity. Make the most of your time here on earth, keeping in mind that it will soon be over and you’ll be accountable to God for how you used your time here.
4. Die to self. Remember that death must always precede resurrection. Be willing to sacrifice whatever selfish desires and agendas you have that conflict with God’s purposes for your life. Decide to crucify your selfish attitudes and behaviors, so God will raise you to new life by transforming your attitudes and behaviors into healthy ones that will help you grow to be more like Jesus. Understand that, physically, you’re born and live until you die, progressing toward physical death. But spiritually, you’re dead until you’re made alive through a relationship with Jesus, progressing toward eternal life.
Video: Fireproof
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5. Expect the impossible. Just as the resurrection itself was impossible for anyone but God, the power behind the resurrection will take you into situations that are impossible for you to deal successfully with on your own. Expect God to challenge your faith when you ask for His resurrection power in your life, but know that if you trust Him, you’ll experience greater adventures than you can imagine. Luke 18:27 (NIV) 27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
6. Experience resurrection peace. You don’t have to live with guilt and shame because of the resurrection’s power to forgive your sins. Ask God to flood your soul with the peace of knowing that you’re in a right relationship with Him. Recognize that if you’re deliberately sinning against God, you can’t be in a right relationship with Him, so deal with your sin so it doesn’t block the peace God wants you to experience. If you want to experience the peace Jesus offers, you must come to Him on His terms, being willing to live the way He leads you to live – the way that’s best for you. Every day, repent of your sins, so you can enjoy true peace.
7. Experience resurrection joy. The freedom from sin and hope in Jesus that the resurrection produced brings great joy into your life. If you allow your constantly changing circumstances to control your life, you can easily lose your happiness. But if you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, you’ll experience joy, which will remain constant despite your circumstances. Unlike happiness, joy is more than an emotion – it’s the ability to see beyond your circumstances to the God who has ultimate control over them, and always acts according to what’s best for you.
If I Haven't Told You...
"Resurrection"
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Resurrection Power
Video: Fireproof
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Hope that each of you have a blessed Easter Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
