I'd like to begin today's sermon by reading to you Verses 1-7 in the 24th Chapter of Luke: "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."

We have followed the path of Jesus from Bethany into Jerusalem. There He observed the Passover, and originated the Lord's Supper with the twelve. Then He went out on the Mount of Olives where He prayed in agony, and was betrayed and arrested. He was falsely accused, falsely tried, and sentenced to crucifixion. And so they mocked Him, and beat Him, and nailed Him to the tree. There He died; and being pierced, His blood poured out.

I. THEN JESUS WAS BURIED, AND HIS DISCIPLES WENT INTO MOURNING:

A. Two unsuspecting men came and buried the body of Jesus:

1. Listen to John tell of it in John 19:38-42. "And after this, Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes uiith the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man laid. There laid they Jesus therefore, because of the Jews preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." Of all people, it was Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two men who had been mostly silent about their faith in Him up to this point. Now, in the aftermath of destruction, they came to show their love and respect. It is noteworthy that it was not Andrew, or Peter, or John who came; but Joseph and Nicodemus.

2. According to Matt. 27:45-46, there was darkness over all the land from the sixth hour until the ninth. That would have been from noon till three p.m. by our time standards. Verse 46 shows that it was right at 3:00 p.m. when Jesus actually died. The moment He died, "The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the Holy city, and appeared unto many," Matt. 27:51-53.

3. A new Jewish day would begin at 6:00 p.m. The new day was a special Passover Sabbath Day, Luke 23:54. This sabbath was not the regular Saturday sabbath, but "an high day" according to John 19:31. No executions or work was to be done on the sabbath day. That meant that the body of Jesus must be gotten down and buried between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

4. So, Joseph of Arimathea, who had not consented unto the death of Jesus, Luke 23:51, "went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus," Luke 23:52. He did this without the knowledge of the Jews for fear they would retaliate on him, John 19:38. This gives you some insight as to how dangerous it was to be identified with Jesus at that time.. The mob was out for blood. They had killed the Lord; and no one was sure just who'd be next. Pilate could hardly believe that Jesus was already dead, but when he confirmed it with one of his centurions, he gave the body to Joseph, Mark 15:44-45.

5. From 3:00 p.m. unto 6:00 p.m., Joseph and Nicodemus took the body from the cross, "brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices," John 19:39-40, and laid the body in Joseph's "own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock," Matt. 27:60. This rock grave was near the place of the crucifixion, John 19:41. After placing the body of Jesus into the tomb, Joseph "rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed," Matt. 27.60. It must have been near 6:00 p.m. by that time. It would have taken a full three hours to do all Joseph and Nicodemus did.

6. The Jewish leaders began to remember Jesus' prediction of His resurrection, so they met with Pilate to get guards put at the tomb, Matt. 27:62-64. Matt. 27:65-66 says, "Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as you can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch."

B . It is no wonder that the hearts of the disciples were broken:

1. They had walked with Him up and down the Holy Land.

2. Matt. 5-7, and many other passages, record how they had heard Him talk of His coming kingdom.

3. You could hardly read a passage like Matt. 26:35 without realizing that they had come to greatly love Him; and their hearts were knit to Him.

4. They had chosen Him as the Saviour and Lord of their lives. Peter had confessed to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Matt. 16:16.

5. And now, Jesus had been cut down as a tender branch, laid in a cold, stony tomb, and the soldiers were guarding the door.

C. And so, the Bible says the disciples were very sorrowful and sad:

1. At the very thought of His betrayal and death, "They were exceeding sorrowful," Matt. 26:22. You can get a little feel of how they must have felt if you will think about having to lay your very dearest loved one in a grave.

2. Jesus foreseeing the event said, "Ye shall weep and lament," John 16:20.

3. Thus, we see them walking along a lonely road, sorrowing and grieving:

a. In Luke 24:17, they were asked, "What manner of communications are these that you have one to another, as you walk, and are sad?"

b. "One of them, whose name was Cleopas," answered the one who asked this question, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?....... Things "concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him? But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done."

4. I hope you can visualize the wave of gloom that settled over the disciples. Everywhere among them there was talk and grief over those awful events of the preceding few days.

II. THEN WORD BEGAN TO SPREAD THAT JESUS HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD:

A. My, what a moving time that first Sunday morning must have been:

1. John explains that "While it was yet dark," Mary Magdalene came unto the sepulchre. Luke adds that with her was "Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women," Luke 24:10. Luke 24:2-3 says that when they arrived, "They found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. They entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus."

2 . Mary Magdalene then ran and told this news to Peter and John, who in turn ran to the tomb, John 20:2. Mary had told Peter and John that someone had "taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre." John 20:4-8 explains that John outran Peter to the tomb, and he "stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went in to the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed." Uncertain of just what to make of all this, John 20:10 says, "Then the disciples went away again unto their own home."

3. Although, Mary Magdalene stayed behind, and stood outside the tomb in the garden weeping. And while she stood there in grief, Jesus Himself appeared to her. The beloved John gives one of the most moving descriptions of this scene that I've ever read in John 20:11-16. "But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master." This woman had been a ruined, street woman, but Jesus had forgiven her all of her sins. Oh, what a compassionate and tender love and appreciation she bad for Him, who had done so much for her.

4. Can you imagine the stunned disciples as "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her," John 20:18.

B. This report of Mary was no mere fairy tale. Jesus was indeed risen from the dead:

1. Luke says, "He showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days," Acts 1:3.

2. Consider a few of the many appearances of Jesus after the resurrection:

a. In Luke 24:34, He appeared unto Simon Peter.

b. In Luke 24:13-31, He appeared to the disciples on the Emmaus road.

c. John 20:19-24 records His appearance to the disciples with Thomas absent.

d. John 20.24-29 records His appearance to the disciples with Thomas present.

e. Once He appeared to seven of the apostles by the sea of Tiberius, John 21:1-23.

f. I Cor. 15:6 says that once He appeared to a group of 500 brethren on a mountain side.

g. I Cor. 15:7 records an appearance to James.

h. Acts 1:3-12 speaks of an appearance to the eleven assembled apostles.

i. He appeared to the apostle Paul near Damascus, Acts 9:3-6.

j. He appeared to dying Stephen outside Jerusalem, Acts 7.55.

k. And He appeared to the apostle John on the lonely isle of Patmos, Rev. 1:10-19.

3. Consider also the nature of some of these appearances:

a. Luke 24:42-43 says He ate fish and honeycomb in their presence.

b. In Jno. 20:25-28, He invited doubting Thomas to touch the scars inflicted on him during the crucifixion, Thomas had said he didn't believe that Jesus was risen, and wouldn't, "except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side." But eight days later when Jesus appeared to the apostles when Thomas was present, "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God".

C. Notice well the truth that lies before us:

1. Here are infallible proofs, Acts 1:3, by God who cannot lie, Titus 1:2, recorded by several men of highest integrity, who were first hand witnesses.

2. It is no wonder the angels asked, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen, Luke 24:5-6.

III. BRETHREN, TODAY WE SERVE A RISEN, LIVING SAVIOUR:

A. Folks, He's alive; raised to live forevermore; never to die again:

1. Listen to Him speak in Rev. 1:18, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

2 . Listen to Peter describe what has happened in Acts 2:23-24, "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."

3. I call to your attention Rev. 5:11-14, "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beast and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth for ever and ever."

4. Alive? Yes, and for ever more!

B. OH, what a blessed truth it is to know that our Saviour lives:

1. In view of that, Heb. 7:25 can say, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

2. And because He lives, Job of old could say, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me," Job 19:25-27.

3. Praise God! Christ is risen from the dead.