Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Luke chapter 24 as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of all the Christian holidays we celebrate, this is the most important one. Why do I say that? Because, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy, it is meaningless, it is hopeless!
That is Paul’s point in I Corinthians 15:12-19, “Now 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.”
Not a very encouraging point he is making here! However, if Jesus was resurrected from the dead, if it did occur, then it confirms His life, it confirms His message, and it confirms His atoning work for us. In other words, it is the basis for our hope beyond the grave; if Jesus rose from the dead then we have that assurance that we too will rise one day! Thus, Paul goes on to say in I Corinthians 15:20-22, “But 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.”
You see, Christ is alive and folks, the evidence is overwhelming. Before we get to our text this morning I want to share with you some of the reasons we can be sure of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Once we have this evidence, we will look at what Luke has to say about this event and compare it to the tabernacle in the Old Testament. Specifically we will be looking at some of the things located in the Holy of Holies. But first we are going to be looking at these reasons why we can be sure that Christ rose from the dead.
This is something that the apostles missed, they didn’t hear or maybe they didn’t want to hear of Jesus predicting His death, but not only His death, but His resurrection from the dead. In Matthew 16:21 we are told, “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”
We are also told in Mark 9:9-10, “Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.” And in John 2:18-22 we are told, “So the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.”
SO JESUS PREDICTED HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD!
In the Old Testament the Lord said that Satan would bruise the heal of the Messiah but that the Messiah would give a deathblow to Satan, a head wound! But for the Messiah, it will not be a deathblow to Him because He will rise from the dead! Now some may argue that I am stretching things, but I am not.
In fact, you can read of the story in Genesis chapter 22 as God tells Abraham to offer his only son on that same mountain that Jesus would be sacrificed! And as you read the story you see that Isaac asks his dad where the sacrifice is and he tells his son that God will provide Himself a sacrifice, which He did do! And Isaac was not sacrificed that day but the implication was that if God did sacrifice Isaac, He would have to raise him from the dead to fulfill His promise to Abraham. And the next time we see Isaac mentioned is when he meets his bride, and the next time we see Jesus is when we, His bride, the church meets Him!
Also, in Psalm 16:10 we are told, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Now just reading this we may miss the point that is being made by the Holy Spirit through David. Thus, Peter tells us in Acts 2:15-32, “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 leave 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.”
Also, in Acts 13:33-39 we are told by Paul that, “God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is reached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
To the Jew, the body saw corruption after is was dead for 4 days, but Jesus did not see corruption because He was raised on the third day!
THE
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHESIED THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE RAISED FROM
THE DEAD!
There are many theories out there trying to tell us why the tomb of Jesus was empty from the disciples stealing the body of Jesus while the tomb was being guarded. To Jesus not really being dead and thus, He woke up in the tomb and rolled the 1-ton stone from the door and snuck by all the guards. To the women and the rest went to the wrong tomb, give me a break! But folks, if you study this at all you can easily see they don’t hold up. In fact, if those who opposed Christ wanted to expose this as a lie or deception, all they would have to do is produce the body of Jesus, but they couldn’t because He rose from the dead!
In John 20:3-9 we are told, “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”
And in Matthew 28:11-15 we are told, “Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, ‘Tell them, “His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.” And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.’ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” So the lies of what happened to Jesus that day began just after He rose from the dead and those lies continue on today!
THE TOMB IS EMPTY!
How do we know what has taken place in the past, like the assassination of President Lincoln since none of us where there at the time of his assassination? The reason we know these things is because of eyewitness accounts and then the written documentation of those things. That is exactly what we see here.
You can read of the apostles seeing the risen Lord and Paul tells us in
I Corinthians 15:3-8, “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, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred 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.” In other words, if the people of Paul’s day did not believe him, then they could go to the over 500 witnesses that saw the risen Lord and ask them for many of them were still alive when Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
MANY PEOPLE SAW THE RESURRECTED CHRIST
Prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus the disciples were not what you would call
mighty men of God. They argued who would be the greatest in God’s kingdom, they denied what He told them at times, they fled and even denied Jesus at the time of His arrest. But then, after the death and resurrection of Jesus their lives were transformed and they boldly proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Acts chapter 4, after being arrested for healing a lame man and preaching Jesus, we are told starting in verse 18, “So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’” Acts 4:18-20. They no longer feared what men can do to them as they proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
THE
LIVES OF THE DISCIPLES WERE CHANGED
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, why was this the central message of the early church? You see, it would make no sense. In fact, the church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen from the dead and was Lord of the church! In Acts 4:33 we are told, “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” And in Acts 5:30-32 we are told, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Paul, in Romans 1:3-4 makes this point also as he wrote, “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Today many may miss the central message of the church, the resurrection of Jesus, because it is cluttered up with all kinds of other things, but that should not be!
THE RESURRECTION WAS THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF THE EARLY
CHURCH!
Folks, that same transforming power of the risen Christ is available today and it is seen in the lives of those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior! You see, we know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical evidence, not only because of the Biblical evidence, but also because He has miraculously touched our lives!
Let me share with you the story of The Mutiny on the Bounty because it shows the power of the risen Christ at work in people’s lives, that transforming power even today! We are told:
In September 1808 an American sailing ship, The Topaz was halfway between New Zealand and South America when it came across an uncharted island. Although it was not safe to land the Captain of The Topaz saw a canoe making its way out from the shore toward his ship. To Captain Folger's astonishment the two youths dressed in native clothing spoke perfect English and claimed to be Englishmen. Before long Folger had unraveled a mystery that had intrigued the world for two decades.
Thirty years before Folger came across Pitcairn Island a sailor by the name of Fletcher Christian had led perhaps the most famous mutiny in history - the mutiny on The Bounty. Casting Captain Bligh and his officers adrift in a longboat the mutineers set sail for the tropical paradise Tahiti. Against astonishing odds William Bligh found his way back to England and the British Government dispatched a warship to hunt down the mutineers. When the warship arrived at Tahiti some of the mutineers were captured, but seven of them seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Those seven knew the British would come after them and set sail from Tahiti with six Polynesian men and twelve Tahitian women they kidnapped. Along the way they picked up another two Polynesian men. Eventually they came to the uncharted Pitcairn island, burned The Bounty to avoid detection, and these fifteen men and twelve women set about making this tiny island their home. Their story is not a pretty one. By the time Captain Folger discovered them in 1808 twelve of the fifteen men had been murdered, one had committed suicide, and one had died of natural causes. Three of the women were also dead.
Soon after the mutineers and their companions arrived at Pitcairn the white men assumed privileged positions and sexual jealousies raged. Coupled with alcohol made from the root of the Ti plant violence and murder exploded on the island.
Yet when Captain Folger arrived in 1808 he found a thriving, peaceful and virtuous community made up of the surviving mutineer, the surviving women and the children who had been born during the community's short and previously violent life. Indeed, over coming years visitors to the island were struck by how idyllic [peaceful] the community was. What had brought about such change?
Historians debate the causes, but it seems that a large part at least was the conversion of the Pitcairners to Christianity. The last surviving European, John Adams, had assumed the role of chief, and had been converted himself after learning to read the Bible and Prayer Book that had been taken from The Bounty before it was destroyed. Adams set about converting the others and soon after the islanders were living by the principles they found laid down in the Bible. The result was by no means a perfect community, but it was a community marked by peace and the desire to live virtuous lives.
- Source Unknown
THE TRANSFORMING
POWER OF THE RISEN CHRIST TODAY!
With that as our foundation, showing that Christ has risen from the dead, let’s look at what that means to us as we begin reading in Luke chapter 24, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us on this resurrection morning.
What I want you to focus on this morning is what these women saw as they entered the tomb. These two angels by the tomb of Jesus, I believe on either side of the tomb where Jesus was placed. I know, not much but when you see what the Old Testament has to say, there is a beautiful picture that God is showing us.
In Exodus we read of the Tabernacle or that portable worship center for the children of Israel. Now I am not going to go through the entire Tabernacle this morning, we will focus on that as we go through the book of Exodus. What I want to focus on is the Holy of Holies or the place in the Tabernacle where God dwelt.
As you moved from the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies you had to enter through the veil that separated man from God. You see, only the High Priest could come before God and only one day a year, on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. And we will look at that a little more in a few minutes.
In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant or this small rectangular box measuring 3 feet 9 inches long, 2 feet 3 inches wide and 2 feet 3 inches high. It was made of acacia wood and covered with gold on the inside and outside. Inside the Ark of the Covenant was the Law or those two tablets of stone that had the Law written by the finger of God upon them.
On top of the Ark was the cover or what is called the Mercy Seat, which measured 2 feet 3 inches long by 2 feet 3 inches wide but there is no dimensions given for its depth! On either side of this Ark were cherubim and in Exodus 25:18-22 we are told, “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”
God dwells above the Mercy Seat between the cherubim. Now on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, which you can read about in Leviticus chapter 16, the High Priest, after he was ceremonially clean, would enter the Holy of Holies to intercede for the sins of the people. He would enter in wearing his High Priestly robes; the breastplate with the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and it was showing that he held the nation close to his heart before God. The ephod also had 12 stones on the shoulders representing the 12 tribes of Israel and it was showing that he carried the nation before God on his shoulders.
As he entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of the sacrifice he would sprinkle the Mercy Seat with this blood. In Leviticus 16:14 we are told, “He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.”
Also, there were no seats in the Holy of Holies and for that matter in the Holy Place because the work of the priest was never done. The sacrifice of these animals could never take away your sins; only cover them until you sinned again! Well, there was one seat in the Holy of Holies, and that was the Mercy Seat, not for the priest, but for God and we will look at that in a few minutes a little closer.
Thus, God does not meet with us upon the Law, which would condemn us and we would face His judgment because we can’t keep the Law! Paul makes that point in Galatians 2:16 as he wrote, “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” So the Law can’t save us, it can only point to our sin, that we are not perfect, that the only righteousness that God will accept is perfection! Again, in Galatians Paul wrote, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’” Galatians 3:10-11.
So then where does God meet with us? The Bible tells us that He meets with us on the Mercy Seat, which covers the Law and as these two angels look down they don’t see the Law but they see the Mercy Seat covered with the blood of the sacrifice. You see, the blood was between the Law and God, between the Law and God’s judgment! As I have said, the Law expresses God’s righteousness and it demands the death of its violators! But, because of the sacrifice, God extends His mercy to us and does not give to us what we deserve!
Now how does that relate to what took place on this resurrection morning? There are the two angels who represent the cherubim in the Holy of Holies. There is Jesus, who as we have seen, is our Mercy Seat. The Father is sitting upon the Mercy Seat. The blood of the sacrifice, of Jesus was there and thus, the Law was covered by the Mercy Seat, by Jesus and the blood made atonement for our sins!
In Romans 3:21-26 Paul tells us, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Jesus, by His death, became the substitute sacrifice for us, a propitiation. When He hung on the cross of Calvary He was judged in our place as the sins of the world were cast upon Him. Thus, the Father could demonstrate His righteousness in judgment against sin while sparing us who deserve His judgment!
The word “propitiation” in the Greek is HILASTERION (hil-as-tay’-ree-on) and it is used in the Septuagint for the Mercy Seat, which was the lid that covered the Ark of the Covenant where the Law of God was kept. And, as I have said, on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a goat upon the Mercy Seat to atone for the sins of the people, Leviticus 16:15. But Jesus has come to be that perfect sacrifice and to take away, not cover our sins. It is as Isaiah 53:4-6 tells us, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 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. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
It is as Clark said: “Here we learn that God designed to give the most evident displays of both his justice and mercy. Of his justice, in requiring a sacrifice, and absolutely refusing to give the salvation to a lost world in any other way; and of his mercy, in providing THE sacrifice which his justice required.”
Also, John tells us in I John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “MY LITTLE children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God's law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father — [it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father's will in every purpose, thought, and action]. And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world.”
Yes, God requires perfection from us but the reality is, we are not perfect in a practical sense, we do sin. And because we have been adopted into the family of God by faith in Jesus Christ, we are perfect in a positional sense. As the Father looks upon us the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from all our sins, we are as white as snow! And when we do sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, a defense attorney, Jesus Christ! The Greek word for “advocate” is PARAKLETOS, which means “one who speaks . . . in our defense.”
Now when I think of a defense attorney I see someone who manipulates the truth to get his client freedom. But if Jesus did that, He would not be righteous. Then how does Jesus defend us, how does He refute the accusations that Satan brings against us? (Revelation 12:10). Because our advocate has become our propitiation or atonement for our sins.
You see, God became sin for us; He paid in full the penalty for our sins, enduring the wrath of God that was due us! Thus, Jesus does not defend us by manipulating the evidence because we are guilty before God. What He does do is say that our penalty was paid in full by Him, and He can show the scares to prove it, case closed! What is interesting to me is when they were translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, back around 250 BC, the Greek word they used for Mercy Seat is the same Greek word that John uses for propitiation, HILASMOS!
In other words, on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and poured out the blood upon the Mercy Seat to atone for the sins of the nation, Jesus has become our Mercy Seat and it is His blood that was shed to atone completely for our sins! In fact, Paul tells us in Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
In regards to this word “propitiation,” Alford tells us: “The word implies that Christ has, as our sin-offering, reconciled God and us by nothing else but by His voluntary death as a sacrifice: has by this averted God’s wrath from us.” It is as Peter said, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” I Peter 3:18. You see, sin is no longer a barrier between God and man, if you receive Jesus as your propitiation for your sins! Yes, sin can hinder our fellowship with God, but our salvation is secure in Him!
Now we are given the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant but with the mercy seat we are not told how thick it was. Maybe it is because of what we are told in Psalm 103:11, “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.”
Here’s the point. The length and the width of the Mercy Seat is the same as the Ark of the Covenant, which tells me there are strict limitations that God has set for us to be saved. You see, salvation is not based on good works, on believing this or believing that! It is solely based upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary and receiving that free gift by faith. Paul put it like this in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the [free] gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is a FREE gift!
In fact, it can’t get any clearer than what Jesus said in John 14:6, “ . . . ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” It is like this, as someone has said, “It is all very well to say ‘there’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea,’ but it is much better to understand clearly what is signified by the words ‘two cubits and a half shall be the length, thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.’ God’s mercy is, indeed, wide enough to take in every sinner who contritely presents himself at the appointed Mercy-seat, but it extends no further than that. The limits are Divinely established, and are unalterable.” In other words, God’s mercy can’t be measured but it can only be attained through Jesus Christ – it does have limits!
Now you may not agree with me that Jesus is the only way but it doesn’t negate the fact that He is. Think about it like this:
CONFUCIUS’S TOMB: OCCUPIED
BUDDHA’S TOMB:
OCCUPIED
MOHAMMED’S TOMB: OCCUPIED
JESUS’ TOMB:
EMPTY
That is the reality folk’s, will you receive the truth of God, will you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior or will you reject the truth and die in your sins? The tomb is empty, our Mercy Seat, Jesus shed His blood for our sins and now God does not look upon us as sinners who have broken the Law, but with His mercy He sees us as clean, as perfect as the righteousness of Christ has been placed into our lives!
Peter Cropper is one of Britain's most accomplished violin players, so accomplished that the Royal Academy of Music in London once loaned him a 258-year old Stradivarius. The Stradivarius violin of course, is an exquisite instrument, worth an unbelievable amount of money and beautiful to the ear.
But while performing in Finland disaster struck. Cropper tripped over and . . . right on top of the violin. The priceless Stradivarius was broken and Peter Cropper was devastated.
Then came hope. Cropper took the violin to a master craftsman who he had heard might be able to repair it. And repair it he did. In fact the repairs were so well done that they could not be seen and beautiful sounds once more flowed from the Stradivarius.
In the same way that the master craftsman repaired that Stradivarius, so God is in the business of repairing us and his universe. Created to play God's "beautiful music" we have been flawed and marked, yet because of Jesus that which is broken can be renewed and recreated.
- Source Unknown
That truly is our God, taking broken lives and making them whole once again! He truly is our Mercy Seat and I pray that as you leave here today, that if Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, that you would ask Him to be. And that all of us would leave here meditating upon what the Lord has done for us, what that tomb represented to us and what Jesus has done for us, cleansed us from all our sins, casting them as far as the east is from the west to be remembered no more! Let me close with these words from Peter in I Peter 1:3-5, where he wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” That is what God has done for you if you receive Him into your life as Lord and Savior! Yes, the stone was rolled away, not to let Jesus out, but to let you in, won’t you come and see and receive? THE TOMB IS EMPTY!