158-Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life

The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture, and current events analyzed through the lens of Scripture.

Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Easter. The resurrection of Christ. The unique proof that underscores the reality of the Christian faith. Hi, Alex McFarland here, and as I'm recording this and as you're hearing this, the world, or at least the Christian world, is celebrating the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.

In John 11, 25, and 26, Jesus said something no other religious leader could ever say. Jesus said, quote, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Well, the resurrection is what sets Jesus apart from everyone else who ever lived, and what sets Christianity apart. And no other faith claims to be able to give everlasting life through the resurrection of the Savior that you can know personally.

Only Christianity makes this claim. And you know, as I was preparing for this, and what we're going to do, we're going to give four facts about reality proven by Easter. Do you know right now there are some 25,000 cemeteries in America. Now, I was reading that about 17,500 are operated by churches, and about 7,000, 7,500 are for-profit or municipal city cemeteries. Now, of those operated by churches, that's one out of every 19 American churches has a cemetery. There are about 345,000 churches in America, and about one out of every 19 churches has its own graveyard. Do you know what the most popular name for the church-run cemeteries is? Resurrection Cemetery. Now that might sound like a contradiction, like, you know, dry water or something.

Two things that are of definition, incompatible. Resurrection, that's something that's alive. Cemetery, things that are dead and buried, right? But in Christianity, the impossible is possible. The natural becomes miraculous. And that which is dead in Jesus, in Christ, is alive.

I hope you've got that life. The Bible has so much to say about it. You know, in Daniel 12 verse 2 in the Old Testament, it says, Now, one more point, and then I want to give four facts about reality proven by Easter. Our hearts certainly do go out to those in the Baltimore-Maryland area. The nation and even internationally, people are still mourning the barge from Singapore hit the bridge in the Maryland harbor. Can you imagine the heavy weight, the mass that caused the momentum to propel that? You know, no pillars that supported a bridge or a structure could have withstood that impact, and the bridge fell like a child's toy, and many people drowned. Really, many people were saved, too, because there were EMTs on the site very quickly.

And just by the mercy of God, many of the workers that were there at 1.30 a.m. on that morning doing work, many were taking a break. But cars did plunge into the icy waters of the Baltimore-Maryland harbor, and divers were still going in the cold, cold water to try to retrieve bodies, and so many people were in the news saying it's a tragedy over the loss of life. And that's true, and in no way am I minimizing the pain and grief, but the fact is that the falling of that bridge or any tragedy does not increase the death rate of humans.

C.S. Lewis said this more than 70 years ago, that cancer, wars, terrorism, things that cause large-scale loss of life. Lewis said, in no way did these things increase the death rate. And somebody might say, well, how in the world can you say that? But the fact is that all of the people were going to die anyway. The Bible says in Genesis that God warned Adam and Eve, if they sinned, they would die. Remember the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God said, in the day that you eat thereof, you will die. Well, the wording literally means in dying you will die. It not only predicts physical death, the Scripture seems to warn of the possibility of physical death. In physical dying, if you meet God unprepared, if you enter into eternity in a state of sin, there's a second death.

And Jesus himself said, do not fear the one that can kill the body, but fear the one who after the body has died can condemn the soul. Now, Jesus rose. The tomb was empty.

The women went to the grave before daylight on that first Sunday morning, and the tomb was empty. Jesus is alive. He appeared for weeks thereafter, showing himself alive, as Acts 1 says, by many infallible proofs.

The word translated in the English as infallible means technical, teknon, t-e-k-n-o-n. In other words, complex, undeniable, compelling lines of proof. Jesus rose, and he did. And we have talked about the evidence for this, the historicity of it.

We've had on guests over the years, like the renowned scholar Gary Habermas, Michael Laikona, J. Warner Wallace, Josh McDowell, so many we've interviewed, talking about the compelling proofs of Jesus' resurrection. Well, if Jesus rose, what do we know? Number one, there is life beyond the grave.

Isn't that something? The soul, the real you, survives clinical death, physical death. There was a movie that came out in the fall of 2023, a documentary, actually the most successful theatrically released documentary of all time, after death. And we interviewed the producer of that film on this very program, and he gave dozens and dozens of documented cases, medical evidence, people that were clinically dead, flat brainwave, no brain activity, they were dead, some for more than a day, and yet came back to life.

They experienced the other side, and for whatever reason in the providence of God, they came back to life. But the resurrection of Jesus proves that there is more than mere resuscitation, but it is a resurrection. So point number one, and we've got to take a break, Easter proves there is life beyond the grave. The cessation of physical life does not end personhood. The soul, the real you.

Actually the more appropriate word is your spirit survives physical death. Number one, and this is for the Christian, a great joy, there is life beyond the grave. Stay tuned, we're coming back, and we'll have more on this special Easter edition of the program with Alex McFarland.

Happy Easter, we're back after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Would you invest a financial contribution to see young people saved, people give their lives to Christ, and people care about God and country? If you would please make a donation securely online, you can give at alexmcfarland.com, or please mail a check to TNG, P.O.

Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. Your gift will be faithfully handled, fruitfully used, and we thank you in Jesus' name. He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. 1 Corinthians 15, 21-23, speaking of sin, death, and then salvation and the resurrection, it says, For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ, all will be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ's at his coming.

Hi, Alex McFarland, welcome back to the program. We're talking about four facts of reality proven by Easter and Jesus' resurrection from the grave. Fact number one, there is life beyond the grave.

Personality survives death, the real you. 1 Thessalonians 5, 23 and 24 talk about body, soul, and spirit. And the salvation transaction goes this way. When you repent and believe, you turn from sin to Christ, and you put your faith in Jesus. The word faith means trust, though it's very often translated belief or believe.

It's a Greek word pisteau, p-i-s-t-e-a-u, and it means a connected relationship through trust. Now what are you to trust in order to be saved? Well, trust what God says about your condition, that your sin has separated between you and God. Trust what God says about his son Jesus, that Jesus is the Messiah, the one and only Savior. He took our guilt to the cross. And think of it this way, the appropriate measure of God's wrath for our sin was put onto Jesus. The judgment was deflected from us onto Jesus. And if you trust the man and the ministry and the message, who is the man? Christ, God incarnate.

What was his ministry? The atonement. He paid our sin debt.

And then you accept the message. Jesus said, the one who believes in me will never die. So if you do that, you will be saved. Back to the 1 Corinthians 15, it says, for by a man came death. That was Adam. And you may not realize this, but if you haven't trusted Christ, you are under our original father, Adam. And under Adam, we are under judgment.

It says, but by a man also came the resurrection from the dead. Jesus, who the Bible calls the second Adam, right? So if you are a believer, now you've moved from being underneath the umbrella of guilt and judgment of Adam and Eve. Now you are under Christ.

Christ Jesus is the second Adam. And it says, for in Adam all die. But in Christ, all who are in Christ will be made alive. So point number one, there is life beyond the grave.

Point number two, now listen carefully. Every person will experience resurrection. Now, it doesn't say every person will automatically experience everlasting life. Because as in the Daniel 12-2 passage that I read earlier, multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake. There is coming a day when, just as the voice of Jesus said to Lazarus, Lazarus come forth. Well, there is a day that the human race will stand before God. And you will not be able to resist that when God says, come forth.

There will be no procrastination, no missing or darting out of this appointment. You know, the Bible says in Hebrews 9-27, it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. And so the Daniel 12-2 in the Old Testament, multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.

Some do everlasting life, others do everlasting shame and contempt, or everlasting judgment. So point number two, everyone will experience resurrection. The lost will experience resurrection. The Bible says the resurrection unto damnation. The believer, the resurrection unto life.

Paul wrote it this way in 1 Corinthians 15. This mortal will put on immortality. This corruptible body will put on incorruption. Now can you imagine eternal corruption? And we can't even fathom that.

C.S. Lewis wrote about it in the book The Great Divorce forever separated from God, forever cognizant of the fact that where you spend eternity was a choice that you made. That's why Easter is a reminder.

It's a time of great joy. But let's just have a very sobering reminder that you will experience eternity. The question is in a state of joy and everlasting life, immortality, heaven, or will it be eternal corruption, condemnation, the punishment of hell.

That's why you need Jesus. The third point is this, preparation for heaven requires that you are resurrected in Jesus. I read the verse from 1 Corinthians 15, In Adam all will die, but in Christ all will be made alive. You know it's interesting, when the Bible uses the phrase the first Adam, the word is protos, p-r-o-t-o-s. Maybe you've heard of a prototype, like a company will make something.

Proto means first. In the protos Adam, the first Adam, there is sin and fallenness. Listen, we've done sinful deeds, but even prior to that we had a sinful inheritance.

But you're going to love this. The second Adam, the word second, is the word eschatos. You've heard of eschatology, the study of last things, the end of time, future things. If you're under the eschatos Adam, the second Adam, you've got everlasting life. 1 Corinthians 15, 46, speaking of the two Adams, that the first Adam is natural, but the second Adam is spiritual. The first man is from earth, the second man, the second Adam, is the Lord of Heaven. And that's why in Romans 5, Paul could write that death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned, just like Adam did. Adam, says Romans 5, 14 and following, Adam was a type, t-y-p-e, of him who was to come. You know, it's interesting that Adam and Jesus are very similar, and I'll talk about those similarities when we get back.

We've got a brief break right now, but four realities proven by Easter will conclude after this brief break. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Dinesh D'Souza.

Dinesh is going to be talking about Trump's first 100 days. His talk is titled, American Politics, Past, Present and Future. Join us for this unforgettable evening with one of America's most astute thinkers and opinion makers, Dinesh D'Souza. May 4, 7 p.m., the Greg Rolls Legacy Theater in North Myrtle Beach. Visit alexmcfarland.com. That's alexmcfarland.com for information and tickets. I would like to see you May 4 to hear in person Dinesh D'Souza.

He's been called trusted, truthful and timely. Welcome back to The Alex McFarland Show. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed.

Hi, Alex McFarland. Welcome back to the program. We're talking about the resurrection of Jesus, the most provable fact of the ancient world, proving that there is life beyond the grave, also proving, as Jesus said, which is really both a promise and a warning, that every person will experience resurrection, some to eternal life and some resurrected to eternal condemnation, separation from God, which is changed by putting our faith in Christ and being born again. And that includes point three. Preparation for heaven requires resurrection in Jesus Christ. Now, before the break, we were talking about ways that Adam and Jesus are similar and ways that they're different. You know, Adam and Jesus are similar in that both are literally the head of a race of people. Adam, the human race, Jesus, the race of saved, born again, redeemed people. Both were endowed with great authority and power. Adam, as head of the human race, had authority.

And as I've said many times, though a lot of people don't realize it, we live in a legal universe. There are laws that are unbreakable, the law of gravity and the law of headship that Adam theologians call him the federal or legal head of the race. That's why when you're born, we're born with a sin nature which we inherit from our parents, Adam and Eve. Now, Jesus has authority, and the Bible says Jesus is head of the church. The Bible says in rising from the dead, he is the first fruits of them who sleep. And in Jesus, you will be a participant, an heir of the first resurrection.

Just as Christ conquered the grave, you the believer will conquer your grave. So Adam and Jesus each had power. Now, Adam and Jesus are similar.

The actions of both have great impact on others. Spurgeon said this, that Adam's righteousness was ours as long as he had maintained it, which wasn't long at all. But Adam's guilt was ours the minute he committed it. So Jesus and Adam, their actions both have great impact on others.

And finally, they are both given precedence to preside over a kingdom. Adam, sin, the world, the flesh, the devil, the kingdom of this world. But if you're a believer, you become a citizen of the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God, a citizen of heaven. Now, Adam and Jesus are very different. Adam was finite, created by God.

Jesus infinite, uncreated, and according to Colossians, Jesus is the creator God. Adam was human and was given the spirit of life. Jesus gave all humans, at least all who would believe in him, the spirit of life. And so Romans 5 16 talks about the fact that just because Jesus rose from the grave, it doesn't mean that salvation is automatic. Point number three is that preparation for heaven requires resurrection in Jesus. In Adam all die, in Christ shall all be made alive. And so you put on Jesus by being born again and by putting your faith in Christ. And Romans 5 16 says this, listen carefully, about the decision that you must make. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned.

In other words, the gift of salvation. You and I have a sin nature because we were born of human parents and we inherit the guilt of Adam and Eve. Now we do sinful deeds as we grow up and we know right from wrong and we choose to do the wrong, but we are sinners by birth and sinners by choice. And Romans 5 16 says the gift of salvation is not just automatic, like the reality of fallenness. For on the one hand, says Romans 5, for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Now what does this mean? You are justified, made right in the sight of God through faith in Jesus. That's in Habakkuk, that's in Romans, and so you have to turn to Christ and believe in Him. Just because Jesus died on the cross, suffered our judgment, and rose from the dead, doesn't mean that all humans are automatically saved. Universalism says if there is a heaven we all get in.

Well there absolutely is a heaven, Jesus said so, but entrance to heaven, preparation for eternity, resurrection unto life, depends on if you begin a relationship with Jesus. The Bible calls it being born from above, born again, and that's by putting your trust in Jesus. Finally, point four, new life in Christ begins with faith and a prayer. Faith means trust, as we said earlier. You need to trust who Jesus is, and that's why Jesus could say in John 11, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though he die, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. But in John 11, 26, Jesus ended this with a question, do you believe this? I love the way the King James renders it, believeth thou this? And so the Spirit of God, I believe, is moving each person hearing this to consider, have you believed in Jesus?

Have you put your faith in Christ? You know, it's a wonderful reality that the tomb of Jesus is empty. He rose, and if we get to go to the Holy Land someday, as Angie and I have been, you can see in that empty tomb it says, he is not here, he is risen as he said. You know, in 1922, the world news carried the story of Howard Carter, the British archaeologist, Egyptologist. He had been for a long time with futility digging for discoveries in Egypt. He had permission with the Egyptian government to dig in what's called the Valley of the Kings. And so many of the tombs over there of the different dignitaries and pharaohs had been raided, right? And Carter was going to give up and go back to England, and he had been digging in an area, and they decided to really call it quits.

But one of his benefactors who provided money, a man whose last name was Carnarvon, said, look, let's go one more season, one more season. And on the 4th of November 1922, a boy that was in the group helping stumbled over a rock that unveiled a flight of steps going down into the ground. And long story short, perhaps you've read the story, but they found a tomb that had not been raided. A tomb with over 5,000 objects, gold, valuable objects. And it was the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

And they spent the next decade cataloging the 5,000 objects. What was interesting is that there were objects to provide things that were needed in the afterlife. But we know we can't take any physical object of this world into eternity, but the ancient Egyptians, ignorant of the true and living God and the plan of salvation as far as we know, they would bury with people things they would need in the afterlife. That's very sad, really.

But here's my point. People were happy that this tomb was not empty. The tomb of Tutankhamen had priceless artifacts in it. So many of the other tombs had been raided and stolen from, and all the tombs were empty, but they were thrilled. Here's one that's not empty.

Well, maybe that's worth being excited about from this perspective of human wealth and discoveries that are lucrative. But Christianity celebrates a tomb that absolutely most certainly is empty. The tomb of Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead, and that's why the Bible says that this mortal will put on immortality. Listen, for your loved ones that have died as believers, there's a reunion day coming. There's coming a day of no more death, no more pain, no more sickness, no more tears, no more sin. There is in Jesus, because of his resurrection, restoration, righteousness, forever joyful relationship with God.

So finally this Easter, let's celebrate these realities. Jesus restores all that was lost in Adam's fall. Jesus imparts righteousness that was lost in Adam's sin. Jesus offers relationship with God, the one from whom we had been estranged.

So which head are you under? Adam and sin or Christ? You know, Psalm 22 verse 1 says, For this I was kept. God has protected you, kept you alive so that you could put your faith in Christ. And so, as Charles Spurgeon said, All who reject Jesus, of those none will escape. But all who turn to Jesus, of those who put their faith in him, none will be rejected.

Happy Easter. May God bless you. And remember, if you have never been saved, remember Jesus is as close by as a prayer.

If you need further help, go to our newly redesigned website, AlexMcFarland.com. Look for the tab that says, What Does God Say About My Relationship With Him? And if we can help you come to Christ or come back to Christ, please reach out to us. Thank you for listening. May God bless you. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. And we'll see you in our Father's kingdom. We'll see you again on the next edition of The Alex McFarland Show.