“AND ON THE THIRD DAY…”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES

I. Introduction
Christ the Lord is risen today! Before He was crucified Jesus had told the Pharisees…
Matthew 12:40
40 “…for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Shortly before He went to the cross Jesus told His disciples He would be put to death, buried, and resurrected.
Matthew 20:18-19
18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be deliv-ered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,
19 and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day, He will be raised up.”

Today we celebrate Easter, the third day. But we prefer to call it what is really is – “Resurrection Sunday.” But before we can celebrate the joy of Sunday morning we need to go back and see how the events unfolded that led up to Jesus’ death.

On Friday of the last week of Jesus’ life on this earth the prophecies of His arrest, mock trials, condemnation, torture, death on the cross, and burial in a borrowed tomb were all fulfilled. Last Sunday morning we looked at what led up to the crucifixion.
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II. Review
We walked through the last five days of Jesus’ life.
• On what has come to be known as Palm Sunday we entered Jerusalem with Him.
• On Monday we were with Him as He threw the moneychangers out of the temple.
• On Tuesday we were with Him as He confronted the religious leaders and exposed their utter hypocrisy, false teaching, self-righteousness, and spiritual blindness.
• On Wednesday we were with Jesus as He taught in the temple and we were there when Judas plotted to betray Him.
• On Thursday we were with Him as He ate the Passover meal with His disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper – our communion.
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III. Text
Now it’s Thursday evening and the supper is over. Satan has entered into Judas and he has gone to betray Jesus. It is late when Jesus and His disciples leave the city and ascend the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane where they will spend the night.
The unimaginable horrors of Friday, the hopelessness and despair of Saturday, and the joy and glory of Resurrection Sunday still await…

In Gethsemane, while the disciples sleep, Jesus, all alone, prays His great High Priestly prayer. He prays for Himself, for his disciples, and for us, His church. The Son of Man agonizes over what He knows is coming, so much so that He sweats great drops of blood. But He submits to the will of His Father, and He obeys God. “My Father, if it is possi-ble, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39b).”

Now it’s early Friday morning and Jesus will die today. That cup will not pass from Him, and before dawn, with Judas’ work of betrayal complete, they come for Him. What follows is a whirlwind of lies, denials, deceit, illegal mock trials, cowardice, torture, and in the end, nothing less than a cold-blooded premeditated murder.

From Gethsemane Jesus is bound and taken before the former High Priest Annas, where He is questioned, struck in the face, and sent on to the current High Priest, Caiaphas. There He is questioned again, mocked and beaten. While this is taking place, Peter, who has vowed to fight for Jesus, has already denied that he even knows Him. At dawn the council gathers and demands that Jesus answer just one question.
*Luke 22:67-70
67 “If You are the (Messiah), tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
68 and if I ask a question, you will not answer.
69 “But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
70 And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.”

For the Pharisees and other religious leaders this is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. But since they have no power to impose capital punishment they’re sure they can get Rome to execute Jesus for them. They send Jesus to the Roman Procurator, Pontius Pilate. And the die is cast. The Jews have schemed, planned, and plotted Jesus’ murder, and now the Gentiles (the Romans) will actually carry it out for them.

Jesus is taken to Pilate, but Pilate just wants this potential trouble to go away, so He sends “the problem” on to Herod, who is head of the local government. Herod’s guards also mock and beat Jesus, and Herod sends Him back to Pilate for execution. Let me paraphrase what Pilate says. “What has this Jesus done? I see no reason to crucify Him. But if you insist, I’ll have him whipped and then let Him go. Isn’t that good enough?” But the Jews are persistent. “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate’s response is, “Fine. Do what you want with Him. Just don’t bother me anymore. I wash my hands of it.”

So Pilate, wanting above all else to keep the peace, allows Jesus to be taken. The Lord is whipped and beaten yet again.
This time the beating is done by professionals – Roman soldiers who know how to torture someone nearly to the point of death while at the same time keeping the victim alive long enough to be nailed to a cross. A crown of thorns is pressed down on His head and He carries His own cross to Calvary, a hill just outside of the city, to be crucified.

As the nails are driven into Jesus’ wrists and feet, a sign meant to mock Him is placed over His head. It is meant to mock both Him and the Jews, but in God’s providence, it speaks eternal truth: “Jesus of Nazareth – King of the Jews.” That’s exactly right! Isn’t that amazing? Even those who hate God will do His bidding when He demands it.

It is 9:00 on Friday morning and another prophecy is fulfilled. The Son of Man is lifted up and suspended between heaven and earth.
John 3:14-15
14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.”

• Even now, Jesus prays for forgiveness for His own murderers. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).”
• Even now, Jesus reaches out to a repentant thief who is being executed alongside of Him. “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43).”
• Even now, Jesus expresses concern for His mother. He speaks first to Mary and then to John. “Woman, behold, your son! “Behold, your mother (John 19:26-27)!”

The horrors that follow are beyond comprehension. At noon it gets even worse. For the next three hours Jesus, in suffering and anguish, enters into a realm of spiritual darkness such as no human being has ever known. God pours out the full measure of His wrath on His own Son as punishment for your sin and for mine. The sky turns black and the earth shakes as God vents His fury. In His absolute holiness He will not look upon sin. So the Father turns away from the Son and leaves Jesus to face these horrors by Himself.

Not from eternity past to eternity future has the Son ever been separated from the Father. But for these three hours Jesus is left alone to pay the price for sins He never committed: Your sin and mine – each and every one of them. Each one is sufficient to kill us and condemn us for eternity. Jesus is being crushed to death under the weight of our sin.

It is now that Jesus cries out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matthew 27:46)?” This anguish of being separated from His Father is infinitely greater and more intense than the pain of torture and crucifixion.

This agony is finally over. He has paid the price, and Jesus’ says, “I am thirsty (John 19:28),” in fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 69:13. Now Jesus utters three words, “It is finished (John 19:30).” They mean far more than the end of Jesus’ life on this earth. They mean that the work of redemption is complete. Every prophecy regarding the sacri-fice of God’s perfect and spotless Lamb has been fulfilled – to the letter!
Everything God requires for our salvation been done. “It is finished!” Nothing can ever be taken away from it. Nothing can ever be added to it.
Matthew 20:28
28 “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

And so, the ransom for your soul and for my soul is paid in full. In victory “Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit’ (Luke 23:46).” Now it is 3:00 on Friday afternoon and it’s over. Jesus is dead.

But the Jews have religious laws they must obey. They can’t have a dead body lying around on the Sabbath. They need to get Jesus’ down off the cross and get Him buried before the sun goes down and the Sabbath begins. Surprisingly, two men muster up the courage to ask Pilate for His body. They are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin. He is, “…a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, for fear of the Jews (John 19:38).” He, “…laid (Jesus’) body in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock (Matthew 27:60).” He was, “…a good and righteous man (he had not consented to [the Council’s] plan and action) (Luke 23:50-51).”

So Joseph has been afraid to publicly declare his faith in Jesus, but after what he’s seen this day, he’s no longer afraid. He doesn’t care who knows. And he’s not the only one. Nicodemus, the same Nicodemus who had come to Jesus in John 3 and asked Him how it was possible to be born again, goes with Joseph. It seems that Nicodemus has become a believer as well. These two prominent men, whose lives have been touched by Jesus, will express their gratitude and thanks by honoring Him in His burial.

Now it is Friday night and Jesus is dead and buried. The preparations for the Sabbath are complete. For the Jewish leaders “all is right with the world.” They congratulate each other on getting rid of their nemesis, but something still bothers them. Judas has already committed suicide so he’s not a problem. No, it’s something else. Jesus had said He would be resurrected. Now that would be a real problem! So the Pharisees will see to it that it doesn’t happen.

On Saturday morning, the Sabbath day, the Jewish leaders go to Pilate and say…
Matthew 27:63-66
63 “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’
64 “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest the disciples come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” (“This guy could cause us more trouble dead than He did when He was alive.”)
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”
66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

Do you think it’s just possible that these religious unbelievers, in the innermost recesses of their minds, are terrified that Jesus may in fact have been the Messiah? I wonder.

I remember that back in the ‘70’s the band Blood, Sweat, and Tears had a major hit song entitled, “And When I Die.” Among the lyrics were these: “I can swear there ain’t no heaven, but I pray there ain’t no hell.” That’s the way I thought before I came to faith in Christ. I didn’t believe the gospel, but there was this gnawing fear down deep inside me that it might be true. Do you know anyone who thinks like that? Did you think like that before you were saved? Is there anyone here who still thinks like that? “I can swear there ain’t no heaven, but I pray there ain’t no hell.”

Back to the Jewish leaders – They’re not worried about the disciples trying to steal Jesus’ body. They’ve scattered in fear for their lives. I think they’re saying to themselves, “If we can just keep Him dead, then He can’t be the Messiah, can He?” So, by late on the Sabbath, Saturday, the tomb is made “secure” by an official Roman seal and the posting of armed guards. Now the Pharisees can relax and take it easy. Don’t their laws say they aren’t supposed to work on the Sabbath? And they always obey their laws, don’t they?

The sun sets on Saturday and the Sabbath comes to a close. Jesus’ claim that He will rise from the dead – His promise of eternal life to all who will believe and trust Him for their salvation, His very claim of deity, that He is God’s only Son, the Jewish Messiah, the Christ – it seems that all of these claims are in jeopardy. He’s still dead, isn’t He?

But now it’s early Sunday morning, the third day. Mark’s gospel tells us that Mary Mag-dalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome go to the tomb to embalm Jesus’ body.
Matthew’s gospel tells us that an angel of the Lord had come and rolled back the stone. In the process the Roman seal was broken and the soldiers literally fainted from fear.
*Luke 24:3-9
3 …when (the women) entered (the tomb), they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel;
5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the Living One among the dead?
6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
7 saying, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
8 And they remembered His words,
9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
But their belief in the resurrection is shaky at best. They go to Peter and John and say, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him (John 20:2).” Peter and John know they didn’t take the body. So the men run to the tomb, Peter looks inside, sees the linen grave clothes, and he marvels.

John seems to fully grasp the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, although years later, when he writes his gospel, he admits that none of the disciples had yet understood the significance of the OT prophecy that the Messiah would not stay in the ground.
Psalm 16:10
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol (Hades or the grave); neither will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

When the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost He will open the disciples’ spiritual eyes and they’ll not only understand this passage, but they’ll understand all of the Scriptures.

In the gospel writers’ accounts they tell us that both the women and the disciples at the tomb marveled, were amazed, astonished, perplexed, and frightened. None of that is surprising, is it? Even believing hearts wrestle with doubting minds, don’t they? Even saving faith wrestles with unbelief, doesn’t it? There is a passage in the NT that speaks so eloquently to what could be called “the believer’s unbelief.” A man whose child was possessed by a demon pleaded with Jesus for healing.
Mark 9:22b-24
22b “…if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
23 And Jesus said to him, “If You can! All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

Does it seem strange to say that even believers sometimes struggle with unbelief? It shouldn’t. The most faithful Christian deals with an imperfect faith. We are, after all, still in this body of flesh, aren’t we? “Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief!”

Does anyone here struggle with unbelief this morning? Might the testimony of God’s holy angels help? “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen (Mark 16:6).” Does the empty tomb help? “Why do you seek the Living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen (Luke 24:5-6a).”

At this point, Peter and John, stunned, leave, but Mary lingers at the tomb, and Jesus appears to her.
John 20:15-17
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seek-ing?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said, to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (“Teacher”).
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

Now it’s Sunday afternoon and Jesus’ appears to Clopas and his traveling companion on the road to Emmaus, a village about seven miles northwest of Jerusalem. As they walk together and talk about the events of the last few days, Jesus begins walking with them, but Luke 24:16 says, “…their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” The Lord asks them what they’re talking about. They stop walking and Clopas asks…
*Luke 24:18b-20, 25-27, 31-32
18b “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
19 And (Jesus) said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

25 And (Jesus) said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scrip-tures to us?”

Now it is Sunday evening. The disciples have come together and are hiding behind closed doors when Jesus appears. He “…stood in their midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you (John 20:19b, 21).’” But Thomas is not with them and so He does not believe. Eight days later, when Thomas is with the disciples, Jesus appears to them again.
*John 20:27-29
27 He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands, and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and My God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

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IV. Conclusion
Over the next thirty-two days the resurrected Jesus Christ appears to the disciples once again at the Sea of Galilee. What evidence is there that Jesus was resurrected?
• Thousands of people knew that Jesus was resurrected because the tomb was empty. It was clear that the disciples could not have stolen the body.
• The Pharisees knew that Jesus was resurrected because they tried to cover it up.
• The early Christians knew that Jesus was resurrected because hundreds of them testified to seeing Him alive after His crucifixion.
• Some of His most skeptical critics, like James, knew that Jesus was resurrected because James was converted, became the head of the first church in Jerusalem, and then suffered and died for his testimony of faith.
• Some of His most hostile and violent enemies, like Saul of Tarsus, knew that Jesus was resurrected because Saul too was converted, became the Apostle Paul, wrote much of the NT, and willingly laid down his life for his faith in the living Christ.

But in the end, all of the arguments aside, each of us must believe in simple faith.
Thomas saw with his eyes, believed, and was blessed. But how much more blessed are those who have not seen with their physical eyes, but with their spiritual eyes, and have believed? I hope you are one of those this Resurrection Sunday morning.

Epilogue: Listen, Jesus Christ was here. He walked this earth, He died, and He went back to the place from which He had come. But that isn’t the end of the story. Forty days after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus again appeared to His disciples on the Mount of Olives outside the eastern wall of Jerusalem. He spoke to them and He speaks now directly to you and to me.

*Acts 1:6-11
6 And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them:
11 and they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

And so, we await the Rapture of the church when the resurrected and living Jesus will return to take all of those who have trusted in Him to be with Him where He is. This is His promise to us. The very last words of the Bible confirm this eternal truth.
Revelation 22:20-21
20 (Jesus) who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.

~ Pray ~