He Is Not Here, He Is Risen

It's a joy to worship together, is it not? Praise the Lord. Go to Luke chapter 24 this morning. Luke chapter 24 and I will read verses 1 through 6 and then we will talk about the fact that He is not here. Not here here, but there here, because He is here. Luke 24 1 through 6. But on the first day of the week at early dawn they came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this behold two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing 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? He is not here.

He has risen. At one time one and a half billion people lived under the tyranny of communism. It all began with V.I. Lenin. In 1917 V.I. Lenin led what has been called the October Revolution and communism took over Russia.

V.I. Lenin only ruled seven years and his utopian dream of creating a society where everyone has equal outcomes was never realized. Quite the contrary. Millions upon millions were slaughtered under his reign under his iron fist. And then Stalin who followed after him as dictator was much worse. Yet Lenin was esteemed.

He was a hero to many in Russia. So they built for him a mausoleum, a special tomb to lay his corpse in. That tomb today still exists in Red Square in Moscow. It's quite an elaborate, elaborate sarcophagus. You have this great granite structure. It's massive. It's cold. The foundation weighs 20 tons and the foundation is built on thick layers of sand so that no shaking of the earth could shake Lenin's tomb.

It's gonna get shaken one day though. The interior is equally elaborate and imposing. You go down the interior steps and they lead to a hall and in the center of the hall is a black pedestal and on that black pedestal rests the glass coffin containing the corpse of V.I. Lenin. You can go there today and view V.I. Lenin in his glass coffin.

You can't smoke and you can't speak but you can go in there. To preserve his body they hired leading embalmers to actually invent new embalming formulas to help preserve him. To aid in his preservation the tomb is kept at a constant temperature of 61 degrees.

The humidity is kept between 80 and 90 degree or 90 percent. Weekly a mild bleach is used to put on his skin to fight the discoloration because fungus and mold tends to grow on him. Aren't you glad our Savior has no fungus on him? Every 18 months Lenin undergoes an elaborate chemical bath of glycerol and potassium and he soaks in it for 30 days.

And while he's soaking in his bath his clothes are washed and meticulously ironed and every three years he gets a new set of clothes. I did read where the charity to fund the preservation of Lenin's tomb has grown on or fallen on bad times and they're no longer able to give him a suit of clothes every three years. But regardless of all of these expansive and diligent efforts the testimony from Lenin's tomb remains he is here. He's still dead. Cold, rotting, graveyard dead. But as Luke's gospel wonderfully proclaims concerning our Lord and Savior when those precious ladies came to the tomb to anoint his body they found that he was not there and the angel told them he is not here.

He is risen. To understand Christianity and maybe more specifically the meaning of Easter I want to bring out to you this morning three places where you will not find Jesus. Three places you will not find our Lord Jesus.

Number one you will not find him on Calvary's cross. The old crosses of the Roman Empire and that's what this was is a Roman cross. It was a it was a place of execution.

It was not a place for the innocent it was the place of the condemned the place of the guilty. Today we have so many people wearing crosses and putting crosses here and there. Miss Pam and I visited the oldest Roman Catholic Church in America some time ago and we just went in to look around and we looked there and over the center of the building where the priest would stand is Mary a statue of Mary and then other various figures and over there on the side was Jesus hanging on the cross.

I thought that's the problem he's over there he should be in the center. But we put Jesus on crosses and hang Jesus on crosses and use crosses everywhere and I'm suggesting that's that's bad ladies if you have an article of jewelry that has a cross but understand he's not on the cross. He's finished with the cross. John 19 30 says when Jesus therefore had received the sour wine he said it is finished.

He bowed his head and gave up his spirit. You see Calvary's cross was a one-time event. The Bible tells us in Romans 3 23 that we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Bible tells us in Galatians 3 10 that we all have transgressed God's law and we're all under the curse of God for being a law breaker a transgressor of the law of God. And the Bible tells us in Romans 3 10 there's none righteous not even one. So here God is he's made man glorious and in his own image so man is to reflect God's greatness and God's goodness and God's uprightness and God's holiness like no other creature is supposed to reflect God. But man's fallen short of God's ideal for him. Man has failed in that. And the Bible says not only that in our behavior and in our hearts and attitudes we have all broken God's law and we stand cursed and guilty into God's law. And there's none righteous the Bible says God is so morally and ethically upright he is right in every way and we are wrong in every way.

What a predicament we find ourselves in. But when Jesus went to the cross he accomplished two things for us. First of all he became our substitute we call this substitution. I've told you church for many years if I were to stop you in the road in downtown Florence or somewhere and say tell me what happened on the cross you should be able to say substitution and satisfaction.

The first one substitution. Through his death and suffering on the cross Jesus remained just that is morally upright and good legally correct but he was justifying sinners. He substituted for me in the judgment. The father looked upon Jesus while he's dying on the cross as if he were guilty as if he were a law breaker as if he were worthy of condemnation but yet he himself was innocent. Now he became sin the Bible says in the sense that God looked upon him as a sinner but he himself was never a sinner. He was substituting in our place as 1st Peter 2 24 reminds us he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.

Isaiah 53 5 he's wounded through for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities and the chastening for our well-being fell on him. So Jesus went to the cross one time and one time only as the innocent one the holy and pure one to become in the eyes of the Father a guilty one a condemned one because he was taking our place in judgment, substitution. And he doesn't need to do that again because that's finished. He doesn't need the cross anymore.

That part's done. Well another factor that comes out another aspect of what was accomplished on the cross it comes in the word satisfaction. Satisfaction you see he assumed our legal responsibilities before God and in doing so he satisfied all the claims of the law that were against us. God's law stands as a testament to how guilty we are and how owing we are to God in our offensiveness in our unholiness. But when Jesus went to the cross the Father poured out the judgment we should get as lawbreakers and the Father was satisfied that Jesus was qualified and executed the task of saving us perfectly.

The theologians use the word expiation. It's the idea that the wrath of God that is due for our sin and our lawbreaking was burned out in the body of Jesus so it would not have to fall on us. The Father was satisfied.

Matter of fact Isaiah 53 10 gives us this prophetic verse about Jesus. But the Father was pleased to crush him putting him to grief if he would render himself as a guilt offering. Now when it says that the Heavenly Father was pleased to crush the Son of God, Jesus Christ on the cross, that crushing of his Son pleased God but not that he crushed him but what the Son accomplished through the Father crushing him. The Son accomplished the redemption, the forgiveness of the sins of the children. The Father satisfied because he substituted in our place and the Holy Father is satisfied.

He took our sins fully and holy. There's nothing else to do. The cross is done. It is finished.

That part's over. So brothers and sisters as they teach in Catholic theology that when you take the mass Jesus in a sense dies for you again, that's heresy. He died once for all the Bible says. He does not need to die again.

Satisfaction and substitution. The Bible says in Romans 6 10 he died once for all. The Bible says in Hebrews 7 27 he did this once for all. 1 Peter 3 18 he died once for all. So Jesus went to the cross the innocent one the Holy One. He became guilty in the eyes of the Father in our place and condemned in our place and then he leaves the cross the innocent one having purchased our redemption. So you won't find Jesus on Calvary's cross today.

He's finished there. The testimony from Calvary's cross is he's not here. Why would you seek the innocent among the condemned?

That part's finished. Number two, somewhere else that I sometimes hear Christian teachers and others say that Jesus is and that's in the den of demons. There's a sense in which they teach that Jesus is out here and he's mighty and powerful but Satan is out here and Satan is mighty and powerful and his demons are powerful and they're in some sort of dueling match and Jesus is struggling and straining and fighting and working and hoping that somehow he can wrestle out of Satan the control of some of the souls of men and finally save some of them. But I'm gonna tell you something Jesus is not dueling with demons in a demonic den somewhere.

He's not there. Nothing could be further from the truth as the great reformer Martin Luther said, the devil is God's devil. What he meant by that is Satan and all of his demons are all defeated foes.

Now they're foes and they're active today but they're all defeated foes and they are under the dominion of God. Satan can only do what God allows Satan to do. In Genesis 3 15 Adam and Eve have sinned and Satan that came in the form of the serpent you remember and he he deceives Adam and Eve and God comes in his punishment and he looks at the old serpent Satan and he says Genesis 3 15 he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the hill.

You'll get my son on the hill but that's not a fatal wound but he's gonna crush your head and that is a fatal one. Satan is defeated. The Bible calls Satan the accuser of the brethren that is that he loves to appear before God and try to announce our guiltiness and try to announce that we are worthy of condemnation and eternal judgment and by the way he's right naturally speaking.

He wants as you say to be in league with himself in league of the doomed and the defeated and he's the poorest of all sports because as he awaits final judgment his goal is to dishonor and rob God of glory and bring all the souls Jesus died for to eternal loss with himself. But when Jesus died for us on the cross Satan's forked tongue of accusation was smashed to his face by the heel of omnipotence. He has lost all ground of accusation against those who believe on it the Son Jesus Christ. There is no ground there is no credibility any longer in Satan's accusation.

He's a defeated foe. Colossians 2 15 reminds us when he disarmed or stripped the rulers and authorities. Rulers and authorities means Satan and demons. He made public display of them having triumphed over them through him. So Satan has no authority he has no ground to accuse and condemn called guilty and worthy of judgment any of those who've believed on Jesus Christ.

What a powerful thing. Matter of fact the Bible even tells us in John 12 31 now the ruler of this world speaking of Satan temporarily God's allowed him to relieve this world system. That's what is behind all the wickedness and the ungodliness and the godlessness of this present culture. He's presently ruler of this world but the text says he shall be cast out. In other words he's cast down or cast out the Bible says judiciously. He has no ground to stand on and then Revelation tells us wonderfully and powerfully there's coming today when he'll be cast down completely.

Not just judiciously not not only can he have no grounds to accuse the brethren but God's gonna remove him completely and throw him into the lake of fire and brimstone where he will burn and be in torment forever and ever and ever. Satan at one time held the keys of death and hell. He had even a righteous position to claim that all the sons of Adam deserved death and hell and he only could keep them out of there. But Jesus did something and Jesus took those keys away. That's why the Bible says in Revelation 1 18, I was dead and behold I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and Hades. When Jesus died Satan fell weak. He knew that the victor had brought him defeat. He awaited the spirit to quicken the dead and the hill of omnipotence crushing his head.

Jesus arose and the earth did roar. Satan bowed to the king as he entered the door. Bowed on his face and on bended knee, Satan yielded to Jesus the eternal key. When Satan might whisper and say you're unfit, your heart is discouraged, you're ready to quit, remember that Jesus to bring your amend cleared your name when he rose again. Now Jesus holds the title deed to your soul.

Permanently your name is written on the roll. Heaven is joyful and filled with all glee for his resurrection proclaims you are now free. Jesus is not out there fighting and wrestling and struggling with demons. They're defeated foes. You're not finding Jesus in the den of demons because the testimony from the den of demons is he's not here.

Why seek the victor among the defeated? Number three, and hallelujah, you will not find Jesus in Joseph's tomb. Lenin has needed his tomb for a hundred years. Jesus only needed one for three days. He just borrowed Joseph's because he wasn't gonna need it very long. He rose from that tomb. The Bible text tells us that the ladies were the first ones there on the third day, that third morning.

In their deep passion and emotion and drive and love for the Savior, they wanted to anoint his body properly with oils and spices, the custom of the day. I love the way God made ladies. Ladies, don't change. Don't be what this world says you're supposed to be.

Be the Lady of God God's called you to be. This world's a liar and Satan's a liar. Listen to me ladies, the ladies that follow the world system do not end well. It doesn't end well. The Proverbs 31 woman, the Bible says at her end, her children, her husband will rise up and call her blessed.

She ends well. Don't believe the lies of the world. God has given you ladies such a great capacity for passion and emotion and nurturing and caring. We men would be lost without your superiority in these areas. Be the woman of God God called you to be. Don't try to be a man. God didn't call you to be a man. I'm off my notes now, can you tell?

Thank you ladies for being the powerful strong ladies that you are, exhibiting the beautiful femininity and sweetness and emotion and passion that only sweet ladies of God have. Well the ladies came and these ladies came to the tomb and they were devoted but they were deluded. They'd missed some things just like the other disciples had missed. That every time Jesus told them, I'm going to Jerusalem, I'm going to be delivered up, I'm going to be arrested and I'm going to die, but I will rise again.

They missed that part. I will rise again. So they come to the tomb and the interesting thing is they should have been looking for Jesus anywhere but a tomb.

Anywhere but a tomb. I mean in one supernatural moment Jesus tasted death Jesus conquered death and he abolished death. He is life. I am the way Jesus said.

I am the truth and I am the life. 2 Timothy 1 10 reminds us Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Now when Jesus died on the cross you see his spirit never died. He said, Father into my hands I commit my spirit.

His spirit went to be with his Father in heaven but his body was laid in the tomb until the morning of the third day. Romans 8 29 says that Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren. The firstborn among many brethren.

What does that mean? It means he's the first of this pattern. Jesus dies. His spirit goes to the Father. His body lays in the tomb and at God's direction the body would be resurrected, reunited with the Spirit and live with God forever. He's the first and all of his children follow in light pattern. He's the firstborn among many brethren.

Isn't that good news folks? Satan, death, hell, the grave, the world, the Jewish religious authorities and the Roman Empire couldn't hold Jesus in the grave. And nothing will hold you in the grave if you know Christ.

What a powerful truth. Now of course there are those who deny the resurrection as a historical fact. These so-called theologians, they're liberal theologians, these so-called pastors, they're liberal pastors who de-emphasize or outright deny the actual bodily resurrection of Jesus.

That's nothing new. I mean in this day the Jewish religious authorities concocted a narrative that said he didn't really rise from the grave. You see, here's the way man does it. Man would like to say, okay Jesus was a real person. He was a great teacher. He was a great moral instructor. He lived a wonderful model for us all to emulate, dying for others. But that's all he is.

You know why? Because if Jesus died and he's still dead, then that is all he is. But if he died and rose again, he's Lord God Almighty. And men would rather emulate a model than submit to Lord.

Well they try to keep themselves on the throne and put him off of it. But he is risen. He's like Samson of old. And the Old Testament tells us that Samson is in the city of Gaza.

He's spending the night there. And his enemies decided they would secretly hide at the gates of the city. And at daybreak they would pounce on Samson and destroy him. Samson, just to show them how dumb they were, got up in the middle of the night and goes down to the gates of Gaza and he puts his massive shoulders under the gate and posts, raises it up, rips them out of the ground, and the Bible says took them up on a mountain and threw them down. That's exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did to death. He went down to death's house and he tore gate, post, and all up.

He's taken it up on the mountain and he's thrown it down. There is no power over him. The tomb couldn't hold him. Death couldn't hold him. Satan couldn't keep him. The Jewish religious authorities couldn't stop him. And the Roman Empire could not stop him. He is risen. Low in the grave he lay Jesus my Savior waiting the coming day Jesus my Lord vainly they watch his bed Jesus my Savior vainly they seal the dead Jesus my Lord death cannot keep his prey Jesus my Savior he tore the bars away Jesus my Lord and up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph for his foes he arose a victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his Saints terrain hallelujah hallelujah Christ arose don't go to Joseph's tomb I think you're gonna find Jesus he's not here the angel said because the testimony of Joseph tomb is he's not here why would you seek the living among the dead now if you want to see the head of atheistic communism then you can go to Lenin's tomb in Red Square guarantee you he's still there they're still putting bleach on him bless his heart and trying to get the fungus off his skin trying to make him look good you know what that means that means he's not glorified but by the way Lenin will rise again and face his God in judgment all will rise again the judgment are to eternal life so if you want to see the head of atheistic communism go to Red Square the testimony there is he's still here he's dead but don't go looking for Jesus the head of the church don't go looking for him on Calvary's cross because the testimony of Calvary's cross is he is not here why seek the innocent I read that the innocent among the condemned and don't go to the den of demons looking for Jesus Christ the testimony of the den of demons is why I seek the victor among the condemned the guilty don't go to Joseph tomb looking for Jesus testimony he is not here why would you seek the living among the dead no wonder Isaiah 46 verse 9 tells us I am God and there is no other there is no one like me conquering death hell in the grave well you've been asked this morning well pastor where is Jesus today I'm glad you asked Hebrews 12 2 tells us fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith who for the joy set before him and during the cross he's finished there despising the shame he's done with that but right now has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God when Jesus died on the cross you remember the Bible text tells us he raised his head up and shouted out it is finished but Jesus did not say I am finished yet the redemption of my children's souls that's done but I'm not doing because right now he sits at the right hand of the Father where he faithfully lives to intercede for his children miss Pam this morning sent all the family members a little clip of Alistair Begg sermon where he tells about what could have happened at the crucifixion and Alistair Begg says you know there's two thieves hanging on the cross and they're hurling abuse at Jesus hanging in the middle him or the middle cross and the two things on each side they're railing at him and cursing him and reviling him but one of these seeing how Jesus died cried out to Jesus and said would you remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus said today you're gonna be with me in paradise and can you imagine when that boy got to heaven if you use some of these witnessing approaches that have been taught which I disagree with basically but anyway let's say the angel met the boy at the gates of heaven said now why should I let you into heaven and that thief I don't know I don't know well well I mean just what basis what what reason do you have to come into God's paradise which what's your answer and the thief he just had a little ten-second encounter with Jesus that's all I don't know he says so the angel said let me go get somebody else and he brought back a supervisor angel and the supervisor angel said now you tell me sir why you should come into heaven well I just I don't know and the supervisor angel said what do you understand anything about the doctrine of justification by faith alone never heard of it never heard of it then why should you get into heaven the thief said well all I know is the man on the middle cross that I could come the guy who died beside me said I could come and friend that's all you need it's the man on the middle cross to give you permission and you're going to heaven because he's paid it all he's done it all he's finished it all he's not on the cross he's done he's not fighting demons he's finished they're defeated he's not in Joseph's tomb he's risen and at the right hand of the Father and for all who believe Jesus is in heaven faithfully interceding at the right hand of God the Father assuring your eternal security and your eternal salvation and also reaching out with both arms this Easter Sunday to say if you'll receive me I will save you because Easter is the promise it's all been done forgiveness of sin and eternal life can be yours hallelujah don't you love Easter don't you love Christ don't you love his victory some of you sitting here this morning you haven't been baptized yet and for many of you your your intention is quite sincere I think I don't know if I've done it right I don't know if I grasp it all right and I don't know if I do that if I can live up to it well listen if you can't live up to it that sin and Jesus forgives that sin too you come to Jesus because you can't live up to it he does it all sometimes we need to go back to where that thief had to have been I don't know just the man on the middle cross said I could come the Bible didn't say fixing your eyes on your repentance the Bible doesn't say fixing your eyes on your faith the Bible says doesn't say fixing your eyes on the change in your life no the Bible says fixing your eyes on Jesus what he did and it's doing that's your hope all the rest of its idolatry and self-centered thinking all come to Jesus come to Jesus fixing your eyes on Jesus has two thoughts number one it means turn turn away from every other person and every other thing turn away from every other thought of well if I go to the church if I talk to the priest or if I have the ordinance of baptism if I take the ordinance of the Lord's Supper if I if I clean my life up some if I start giving tithes and offerings if I get my membership on the church turn from all of that all of that it's rubbish it's garbage it's worthless thief on the cross had none of that it means to turn away from everything else and then look intently at Jesus and say I'm coming to you because I know I can't even do it right after I get baptized but you're mighty to save and he will say boss he's alive lives to save and secure those who believe on him for eternity I serve a risen Savior he's in the world today I know that he is living whatever men may say and he is