2011 4-24 ‘Jesus’ Power Over Death and the Grave’ (Selected Scriptures)

“JESUS’ POWER OVER DEATH AND THE GRAVE”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES

I. Introduction
We know that one little match can destroy an entire forest, don’t we? What about two little words? What can they do? If those two words are, “I am,” they can change the world. “I am!” Just two words consisting of three letters from the modern English alphabet. You wouldn’t think something so small could ignite such a firestorm, would you? But they did, and they still do.

The words “I am” could rightly be said to express the very core of Christian doctrine and theology. “I am” testifies to Jesus Christ as God’s own Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, eternal God in human flesh. That is fundamental truth, isn’t it?

Isn’t that what we say at Christmas when we use the term Emmanuel?
Matthew 1:23
23 “Behold, the virgin shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

Isn’t that what we say whenever we read the opening verses of John’s gospel?
John 1:1-2
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Isn’t that what we say when we echo Jesus’ own words from Revelation?
Revelation 1:18
18 “I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore…”

In all of these statements Jesus is proclaiming that He and His Father are one. We know that’s what He means because when Moses asked God to tell him His name…
*Exodus 3:13-15 (at the burning bush)
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 And God furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”
In John 8:58 Jesus said, “… before Abraham was born, I am.” The Jews knew exactly what He was saying and it infuriated them. They said He was claiming to be equal with God. He was. They said He was blaspheming God. He was not. Finally, they said He was demon-possessed, which of course, He was not; and so they plotted His murder.

In John’s gospel Jesus makes the great “I am” statement seven times. In each of them He proclaims a specific aspect of His deity and its relationship to our salvation.
1. “I am the bread of life.”
*John 6:31-35 (people referring to Moses and Israel wandering in the wilderness)
31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘(God) gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 They said therefore to Him, “Lord, evermore give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

2. “I am the light of the world.”
*John 8:12
12 …Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

3. “I am the door of the sheep.”
*John 10:7-9
7 “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the (true) sheep did not hear them.
9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved…”

4. “I am the good shepherd.”
*John 10:11
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

5. “I am the resurrection…”
*John 11:23-26 (at Lazarus’ funeral)
23 Jesus said to (Martha), “Your brother shall rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

6. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
*John 14:6-7 (when Thomas asked Jesus where He was going)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

7. “I am the vine…”
*John 15:4-5 (spoken to genuine Christians)
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

So Jesus tells us that He is our spiritual food, our light in the darkness, the door through which we enter into heaven, our Good Shepherd, our resurrection, the way, the truth, the life, and finally, the vine that connects us to Himself. There is a logical progression in Jesus’ “I am” statements.

In the first “I am” (John 6:31-35) Jesus piques the peoples’ interest in eternal things when He tells them that the food the world provides can neither give life nor sustain it, but the food that He provides does both. “I am the bread of life.”

In the second “I am” (John 8:12) Jesus reinforces the peoples’ interest in Him by saying that the “s-u-n” gives light so that the human eye can see the physical world, but the “S-o-n” gives spiritual light so that the believer may see the things of God. “I am the light of the world.”

In the third “I am” (John 10:7-9) Jesus refers to false teachers who say there are many ways to get to heaven (He calls them thieves and robbers), but that He himself is the only passage that leads to truth, peace, and eternal life. “I am the door.”

In the fourth “I am” (John 10:11) Jesus tells the people that He is the shepherd who will protect His flock from the wolves (the false teachers) even if it means His own death. “I am the good shepherd.”

In the fifth “I am” (John 11:25), which is directly related to the fourth, Jesus encourages His sheep by reminding them that even though He will be killed, He will rise from the dead thereby defeating death itself. “I am the resurrection.”

In the sixth “I am” (John 14:6-7) Jesus makes one of the most well-known statements in the entire Bible. In one over-arching and magnificent proclamation Jesus says there is only one road to heaven. It’s not that the other roads are closed or hard to find or even difficult to travel. It’s that there are no other roads. There is only one road to God.
Jesus says that you must go through Him. Period! In one statement He instantly renders every other religion of the world null and void. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

In the seventh “I am” (John 15:4-5) Jesus tells us that once we have come to Him, turned from our sin (repented), and trusted Him for salvation, we will produce abundant and eternal fruit – IF we stay connected to Him. By ourselves and in our own power, we can do nothing of eternal value. This is because the vine can live without the branches, but the branches cannot live without the vine. “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

So in each of these statements we see Jesus’ deity. In Jesus’ deity we recognize His power and authority to be, to do, and to accomplish everything that He said He would accomplish. On this Easter morning, this Resurrection Sunday, I want us to focus on just one of those seven “I am’s” that are found in John’s gospel. In it we will clearly see the power of God working in Jesus Christ.
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II. Text (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
*John 10:11-18
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 “He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them.
13 “He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.
14 “(But) I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd.
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initia-tive. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

The first thing I want to do here is remind you why Jesus came into this world. He came to die. Jesus said that very thing Himself.
Matthew 20:28 (speaking to the disciples about His role as servant)
28 “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The purpose of Jesus’ death was to give us life. In fact, that’s what He said in the verse immediately preceding this morning’s text.
*John 10:10
10 “…I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”

These truths are of critical important because there are too many modern teachers who claim Jesus came to earth to be an example of love and a teacher of great moral truths. He was and He did. But those things were an outgrowth and a result of His primary pur-pose which was to obtain eternal life for those whom His Father had chosen in eternity past. So again, His primary purpose was not to implore us to be holy and/or learn to live a life of self-denial. He came to die – “…to give His life a ransom for many.”

“By Moses came laws, rules, ordinances, (and) ceremonies. By Christ came grace, truth, and eternal life.” J. C. Ryle

*John 10:11
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

While the significance of the shepherd/sheep imagery may not be completely clear to us in twenty-first century western culture, it was rich in meaning to those who first heard it.
A shepherd knows his sheep. He knows everything about them. He cares for them. He is patient toward them. He sees to it that they have food. He does whatever he needs to do to provide for all of their needs. Finally, he protects them. He does so even at the risk of his own life.

But Jesus says He is the “Good” Shepherd. “Good” here is translated from the Greek word “kalŏs.” It does not mean good by choice, whereby one makes a decision to be good or bad and then consciously decides to be good. It means good by nature. It speaks of the nobility of a perfect character. So Jesus is the perfect shepherd. As such He does not simply risk His life for His sheep. He lays down His life. He dies for His sheep.

This is how Jesus cares for you and for me. He knows your name, your family, your history, your home, your circumstances, your trials, your successes, and He knows your failures. He knows your strengths and your weaknesses. He cares about every aspect of your being, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. And here is the best part…
*John 6:37-39
37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”

The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep and will lose none of them (“us!”). Do you see why the Christian can be completely secure in his or her faith? “…of all that (My Father) has given Me I lose nothing…”
John 10:11 says Jesus dies for His sheep. Even the word “for” is important. The Greek word is the preposition “hupér.” It speaks of equivalence and exchange. An example of “hupér’s” use would be found in phrases like, “an equal trade would be one for one.” Or “I will give you this for that and we’ll be even.” In the NT “hupér” is used again and again in reference to the substitutionary atonement of Christ. “He gave His life for us.”
*John 10:12-13
12 “He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them.
13 “He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.”

In Jesus’ analogy here the hirelings are the Jewish religious leaders, and within this con-text, they are false teachers. Although they claim to serve God and care for His sheep, they are in fact serving themselves and leading God’s sheep astray. They are not working for God, they are working for themselves. Paul speaks of such leaders. Then Peter tells us what will become of them.
*Titus 1:10-11
10 …there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of sordid gain.

*2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon them-selves.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
3 and in their greed they will exploit you with their false words; their judg-ment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Look again at the last part of v. 3. False teachers have been judged already, and they will be destroyed. You and I are not to take pleasure in that, but we are to take comfort in it.

False teachers exist today just as they did in the first century. Sadly, there is no shortage of them. Their existence and presence in the Church of Jesus Christ is one of the main reasons why it so important for Christians to know their Bibles. False teachers are the wolves in sheep’s clothing Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:15-16
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 “You will know them by their fruits…”
We must be able to discern truth from error and we must be able to recognize the true under-shepherds from those who only appear to care for the flock of God.
*John 10:14-15
14 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

The key word in these two verses is “know.” It’s used four times. It speaks of the love that exists between God and His children. For example…
Amos 3:2 (NKJV) (God speaking of His unique relationship with the nation of Israel)
2 “You only have I known of all the families (nations) of the earth.”

Conversely, such love does not exist between God and those who are not His children.
When Jesus speaks of the lost on the Day of Judgment He uses the word “know” again. Only then He uses it in the past tense.
Matthew 7:23
23 “…I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

John 11:14-15 can be stated like this. Jesus knows us and we know Him. The Father knows Jesus and He knows the Father. True Christians are immersed in that knowledge.
*John 10:16
16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd.

The “other sheep” are you and me, the Gentiles of the world who are called to come to Christ, to the flock of God. Jesus prophesies the day when Israel and the church will be one and be united forever under the Good Shepherd. Such unity will exist and flourish throughout eternity. This is what Paul teaches in his letter to the church at Ephesus.
Ephesians 2:13-16
13 …now in Christ Jesus you (Gentiles) who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups (Jew and Gentile) into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
15 (He did this) by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…(so) that Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity (between Jew and Gentile).

And so the true Church of Jesus Christ consists of both Jew and Gentile today. It will forevermore. Now all of that brings us to this. None of this would be possible if it were not for Jesus’ power over death and the grave. He would not be the Good Shepherd who cares for us. He would not be the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
The bottom line is that if Jesus had no power over death and the grave He would not be our Savior because He couldn’t be our Savior. But…
*John 10:17-18
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initia-tive. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

In these two final verses you see the power of the Creator of the universe and the Creator of all life that exists in the universe. “I lay down My life that I may take it up again.” Only God could make such a statement! No one took Jesus’ life from Him; not the Jews, not the Romans, no one. Do you remember what He told Pontius Pilate when the Roman Procurator told Jesus he had the power to crucify Him?
John 19:11
11 “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given (to) you from above…”

Look at v. 18 once more. The Good Shepherd gave His life for His sheep. It was never taken from Him. Do you understand that there is no power in all of creation that could take the Good Shepherd’s life from Him? “…I lay it down on My own initiative.”
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III. Conclusion
On this Resurrection Sunday we remember what Jesus did for His sheep. No one else could do it because no one else has the right, the authority, or the power to do it. Jesus laid down His life and then He took it back up again. He did so because God gave Him the right, the authority, and the power to do it.

Can you imagine the horror that went through the world of Satan and His demons when, after they were convinced they had won, after they were sure that they had defeated God in His efforts to provide salvation for men, that the battered body of Jesus Christ miracu-lously stood up, complete, perfect, glorified, and alive, and left the tomb behind Him?

He did because He could! If Jesus could not raise Himself from the dead and if Jesus could not overpower His own grave, how could He raise you and me? But He did and He can and He will. Come to Him today. He is willing to accept you and to make you one of His flock. The Good Shepherd has died and He has already risen from the dead.
John 11:25-26
25 “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”