Luke 24:1-12

Sermon Notes

Luke 24:1-12

This Changes Everything

Pastor Matt Pierson

“Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?”
Leo Tolstoy, Confessions

Three defining moments of the Gospel story:

• The Incarnation: The Great Descent
• The Crucifixion: The Great Exchange
• The Resurrection: The Great Reversal

1. There is no Christianity without the resurrection

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all He said; if He didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like His teaching but whether or not He rose from the dead…If Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything.”
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-6

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:14

2. The Resurrection changes everything

The resurrection changes:

• Our relationship to God
• Our relationship to others
• Our purpose in life

“To take account of the resurrection of Christ is to wake up in a new reality, strikingly different from the world inhabited by those for whom Christ rising from the dead is a myth or hoax. It transforms our sense of who we are in the world, what we are to do, and why we are to do it.”
Christopher Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory

“Authentic Christianity— the Christianity of Christ and his apostles— is supernatural Christianity. It is not a tame and harmless ethic, consisting of a few moral platitudes, spiced with a dash of religion. It is rather a resurrection religion, a life lived by the power of God.”
John Stott

3. Because of the Resurrection, the worst thing is not the last thing

“The Resurrection gives us a hope for the future; that the future is there, that it’s personal, that it’s certain, and it’s unimaginably wonderful.”
Tim Keller

“The Resurrection is the supreme vindication of Jesus’ divine identity and His inspired teaching. It’s the proof of His triumph over sin and death. It’s the foreshadowing of the resurrection of His followers. It’s the basis of Christian hope. It’s the miracle of all miracles.”
Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter

“The worst isn’t the last thing about the world. It’s the next to the last thing. The last thing is the best. It’s the power from on high that comes down into the world, that wells up from the rock‑bottom worst of the world like a hidden spring… The last, best thing is the laughing deep in the hearts of the saints…Yes. You are terribly loved and forgiven. Yes. You are healed. All is well.”
Frederick Buechner, The Final Beast