Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash podcast and click the donate button, or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. I'm Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, One day death will be swallowed up in victory, and then will come about the saying that is written, Oh death, where is your victory?
Oh grave, where is your sting? The resurrection of Jesus is just the beginning of God's process of completely reclaiming this world for himself, and that's why an empty grave matters. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, many well-meaning but misguided people think that when Jesus died, his spirit went to heaven, but they don't believe he rose from the dead.
So what is the big deal about the physical resurrection of Jesus? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares five reasons why the resurrection matters. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress? Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Today I'm pleased to present a special study on the power of the cross. To accentuate the Easter celebration that took place on Sunday, we're devoting our complete attention to this urgent message about the empty tomb. But first, I'm pleased to say that so many of our radio friends from across the country have made plans to vacation with us this coming June. Excitement is building for the Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska. The dates are June 15th through 22nd, and it's not too late to sign up.
The beauty and grandeur of Alaska is unparalleled. When you stand out on the deck and witness God's majestic handiwork, it's like sailing into a masterpiece painting and would love to have you join us for one week of spiritual and physical refreshment. All the details are found online at ptv.org. Be sure and reserve your spot right away while there's still room. Because of the enormous response we received to our brand new book called The Power of the Cross, we've decided to extend the special offer a few more days.
So, if you missed out, be sure to give us a call, go online, or write us a letter today. The Power of the Cross is an exclusive coffee table style book. It's filled with colorful images from Israel, along with personal insights I've written for you. It's like walking side by side together through Jerusalem as I guide you on a journey of the Holy Week.
And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll make sure a copy is sent to your home right away. We'll repeat these details later in today's program, but right now I want you to hear a time-sensitive message titled Grave Matters. In an article entitled Grave Matters, the New Testament scholar N.T. Wright wrote of an interesting article that appeared on Palm Sunday 1996 in the London Sunday Times. It was an article that declared that an archaeological discovery had now shaken Christianity to its very foundation.
What was that discovery? In Israel, in a family plot, so to speak, there were a number of ossuaries, bone boxes is what they are, that had some interesting names on them. One had the name of Mary, one that had the name of Joseph, one somebody named Judah, and there was a bone box with the name Jesus on it. Oh, they were so sure this was the smoking gun that proved that the resurrection was a myth.
Now, of course, all those names are familiar names in the Middle East. There's nothing to suggest that it belonged to the family we know, but even if it didn't belong to them, so what? I have a grave reserved for me in Van Alstine, Texas, but I'm not in it. Just having a place for your future burial doesn't mean anything. But what they didn't realize was by pointing out this bone box discovery, they were actually making an argument for the resurrection instead of against it.
Let me explain what I mean. In the Middle East, there was a two-step burial process. When somebody died, their body was wrapped in spices to prevent a premature decay of the body, and the body was placed on a shelf in a tomb just like Jesus was. It would take about a year for the body to completely decompose, and after about a year, the relatives would come and collect the bones and put it in an ossuary, a bone box, so that the shelf was clear for the next family member.
Now, just think about it. If indeed this bone box were for Jesus, it would have meant that after a year after his death, somebody would have gone back to collect the bones. Can you imagine what that would have done to the Christian movement if after a year, just as soon as Christianity was getting off the ground, the bones of Jesus were discovered?
It would have destroyed the Christian movement from the very beginning. There were no bones in that bone box because there were no bones left behind. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he was raised bodily, literally, not just spiritually.
Now, not everybody believes that's a big deal. For example, one scholar was talking about why he didn't believe that an empty tomb really mattered that much. He said, I think the resurrection of Jesus really happened, but I have no idea if it involves something happening to his corpse. And therefore, I have no idea if it involves an empty tomb. So I would have no problem whatsoever with archeologists finding the corpse of Jesus.
For me, that would not be discrediting of the Christian faith or of the Christian tradition. The apostle Paul begs to differ. He says a literal bodily resurrection is the core of our Christian belief. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, but if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. Why is an empty grave important? I want to share five reasons an empty grave matters. First of all, an empty tomb verifies the truth of scripture. It verifies the truth of the entire scriptures. You know what's interesting? Even Jesus' enemies knew that a literal body resurrection, that that was essential to Christ's message.
How did they know that? Look at Matthew 27, verses 62 to 64. Jesus died on Friday. He was buried before sundown.
On Saturday, notice what happened. Now on the next day, Saturday, the day after the preparation, the chief priest and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate and they said, sir, we remember that when Jesus was still alive, that deceiver said, after three days, I'm going to rise again. Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body away and say, he has risen from the dead and the last deception will be worse than the first. Now, if Jesus meant by resurrection that his spirit would go to heaven, how would anybody know if that happened or not? The reason they had to guard the tomb was they understood that Jesus was claiming his body would be raised from the dead. And if the disciples stole the body, then that would mean Jesus' claim was true, that he was the Messiah. And so they said, we're going to do whatever we need to make sure that body is not stolen and give a false verification that Jesus is actually the son of God. That's why the angel said to those who had come searching for the body of Jesus in Matthew 28, do not be afraid for I know that you're looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
He is not here. He has he has risen just as he said, come see the place where he was lying. Why is an empty grave necessary? It verifies the truth of what the scripture said about the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Secondly, an empty grave is important because it ratifies the sufficiency of Christ's death. It ratifies the sufficiency of Christ's death.
Now, let me explain what I mean. Secularists don't mind acknowledging that Jesus was a real person. History proves that. They don't mind acknowledging that he was a good teacher. He was just like Buddha.
Jesus was a good teacher. They don't mind acknowledging that he died. Both Jesus and Buddha died.
But here's the difference. When Buddha died, he left his teeth and bones behind. When Jesus died, he left nothing behind because he was raised from the dead just as the Bible says. Well, pastor, why do you make such a big deal about Christ's bodily resurrection? What does that have to do with me?
Simply put, everything. A bodily resurrection proves that Christ has forgiven you of your sins. In Romans 4 25, Paul said, Jesus who was delivered over because of our transgressions was raised because of our justification. He was crucified to pay for our sins, but he was raised to prove that that payment actually went through, so to speak, that it was sufficient for our sins.
Here's what I mean by that. Anybody can go around saying, oh, I'll pay for your sins. I'll pay for your sins. But how do you know if he actually accomplished it? It's the resurrection that proves that God accepted his payment.
Let me illustrate it for you this way. Just imagine that our executive pastor, Ben LeVorn, comes into my office tomorrow and he said, pastor, I'm just really down. And I said, well, Ben, what's going on? He said, well, we're just under a lot of financial pressure. We've got that baby coming at the end of the week.
And not only that, Paris has spent too much time at Nordstrom buying all this stuff for the baby and getting ready for it. And our Visa card is charged up to the maximum. I don't know what we're going to do. And I said, well, Ben, I don't want you to be under that pressure. Give me the Visa bill. I'll pay it for you. And Ben lightens up and he says, pastor, you're even more wonderful than I thought you were. Thank you so much for doing that.
I said, no problem. A month later, Ben gets a call from Visa. Where's our money? And Ben said, oh, well, my pastor, Dr. Jeffress, paid that for me. Don't you have a record of his check?
And he searched the computer. Oh, yeah, we see Dr. Jeffress did send in a check. But that was to cover his Visa bill. There's nothing left over for you.
You're still on your own. Now, I know that's a silly illustration, but it's an illustration of exactly what Christ did. He claimed to pay for our sins. He said on the cross, te telestai, it is finished, paid in full. But how do we know if that payment was accepted by God?
Listen to me. If Jesus, after he died, remained in the grave, then it meant he was paying for his sins, not our sins. But the fact that God raised him from the dead proves that we are justified, declared righteous by believing in the crucified and the risen Christ.
That's what I mean. It is an empty grave that proves the sufficiency of Christ's payment for our sins. Thirdly, it is the resurrection, the empty tomb that clarifies the nature of eternity. The resurrection clarifies the nature of eternity.
The late Dr. Tim LaHaye was a friend of mine. He was a great writer, the Left Behind series, great books on Bible prophecy. Tim says that one of the things that prevented him from becoming a Christian earlier in life was the thought that all Christianity had to offer was the promise that one day we would be some disembodied spirit floating around on a cloud, plucking a harp, and Tim wasn't real interested in that. But it's only when he understood what the resurrection was that he came to understand what we're gonna be like in all eternity. The Bible says we're not gonna be a disembodied spirit. We were created body, soul, and spirit.
There's never been a time. We haven't always been body, soul, and spirit, and there never will be a time that we exist without a body. The Bible says God made us with a body.
What is that body going to be like? 1 Corinthians 15, 20 gives us a hint. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first fruits of those who are asleep.
What in the world does that mean? Remember, this was an agricultural culture. And so they understood the concept of first fruits. Whenever the Jews would participate in a harvest, once everything was harvested, a sample of that harvest would be taken as a gift to the priest. Now, it was called the first fruits, the sample. Now, the first fruits wasn't the whole harvest. It was just a sample of what was yet to come. Paul is saying Jesus' resurrection wasn't a one-time event.
It wasn't a one-off, one and done. He was the first fruits. He was just the sample of what is coming yet in the future. There is a future resurrection for all who trust in Christ. And so if you want to know what your existence in heaven is going to be like, just look at Jesus. What happened to him after he died? He got a body.
It was a perfect body. It was the protodocus, the prototype, the Bible says, of the body that you and I are going to have as well. Later in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul continues that analogy of our resurrection with a harvest. And he said, there are two things you need to know about this harvest, this spiritual harvest that's coming. First of all, the harvest is superior to the seed.
In verse 37, Paul says, and that which you sow, you don't sow the body, which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or something. In other words, what you plant is inferior to what you receive at the harvest. The harvest is superior.
For example, if you had a choice, which would you rather eat, an apple seed or an apple? You'd like to harvest better than what was planted, wouldn't you? It's the same way in our resurrection body. It's going to be much better than anything we've had here on earth. No more sickness, suffering, sadness, all of that is gone. But Paul goes on to say, the harvest is similar to the seed.
It's superior, but in some ways it's similar. In verse 38, Paul said, but God gives it a body just as He chooses and to each of the seeds, a body of its own. Every seed is different. You don't plant an apple seed and harvest a kumquat.
What you plant is what you get. There's some similarities between the two. That was true in Jesus' body. Even though His body was superior from what He had on earth, His disciples recognized Him. There were some features that were similar. Even the way He broke bread was similar.
Whether He was right-handed or left-handed, we don't know. But some things remained. What Paul is saying is that this clarifies the nature of eternity. We're going to be real people when we die.
I say this all the time. When we die, it's not somebody else who goes to heaven. It's we who goes to heaven. And many of the things about us will remain.
Our giftedness, our interest, even similar characteristics to our body. We remain individuals when we die. The resurrection of Christ clarifies the nature of eternity. Fourthly, why does an empty grave matter? Because an empty grave energizes the people of God. That writer, N.T. Wright, I mentioned a few moments ago, notes that half of the references in the Bible to running have to do with the resurrection.
Did you know that? Half of the times the Bible talks about running, it's in reference to the resurrection. In Matthew 28, verses seven and eight, an angel of the Lord said, go quickly, tell and tell the disciples that He is risen from the dead and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee and you will see Him. And the women left the tomb quickly and with great fear and great joy, and they ran to report it to the disciples. The women ran from the empty tomb. The men ran to the empty tomb, but everybody was running.
Why? There was a sense of urgency. There was a sense of excitement when they saw the risen Christ.
And we need to have that same energy today as well. Finally, why is an empty grave important? The empty grave is important because it exemplifies the victory of God. It exemplifies the victory of God.
Now, please stay with me on this. I'm asked all the time, especially after events like that school shooting, why did God allow that to happen? Well, the truth is God had nothing to do with it. That's because of sin and the evil that entered into the world. God's original plan for the world had no death as a part of it, no mourning, no crying, no pain. That was never a part of God's plan. The Bible says it is the usurper, Satan himself who brought those things in the world through a willing vehicle in Adam and Eve. For by sin, death came into the world and death spread to all men because all sinned. Romans 5-12 says that wasn't a part of God's plan. It is Satan, Jesus said, who is the thief, who comes to kill and steal and destroy. Now, here's what I want you to listen to. If when we die, God says, I'm going to take your spirit to be with me, but I can't do anything about your body.
I can't do anything. Satan won that victory when he brought sin into the world, but I'll bring your spirit into heaven. And not only that, I'll bring you to be with me here in heaven, but you can't remain on the earth. Satan has that. He owns that land.
It's his real estate whatsoever. But just come up with me and your spirit to heaven and we'll reside in this corner of the universe and we'll let Satan have the world that he's claimed for himself. Do you think God's going to allow that to happen? Do you think God is going to let Satan have the final word in what happens to our bodies or what happens to the earth that he created for your eternity? Not on your life. God is not going to allow Satan to have the last word on this. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is just a hint about what God is going to do one day.
Hear me on this. Second Corinthians 4 doesn't diminish the reality of our suffering. Paul says, for indeed these light momentary afflictions are producing an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. We do suffer. There are momentary times of affliction.
For some people it lasts an entire lifetime, but that affliction is light compared to the heaviness of the glory, the blessings that God has planned for us. The resurrection is a reminder that God is going to reclaim our bodies and recreate them. He's going to reclaim this earth and it's going to be recreated for all eternity. One day death will be swallowed up in victory and then we'll come about the same that is written. Oh death, where is your victory?
Oh grave, where is your sting? The resurrection of Jesus is just the beginning of God's process of completely reclaiming this world for himself. And that's why an empty grave matters. I think about Easter Sunday, April 8th, 1945. A godly pastor was imprisoned. His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And on that Easter Sunday, Bonhoeffer preached his last message. His text was, by his stripes, we are healed. And he had not finished his sermon when the prison doors opened. One of the soldiers said, prisoner Bonhoeffer, come with us. He leaned over to our friend and he said, this is the end, but for me, it is a new beginning of life.
The next morning, under the gray skies of the Flossenburg concentration camp, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged on the gallows. Although he is gone, his words remain with us today. This is the end, but it's also the new beginning of life for us.
A.W. Tozer said, if the resurrection proves anything, it proves who won and who lost. I am the resurrection and the life, Jesus said. He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live again. That's why an empty grave matters.
Yes, were it not for the empty grave, there would be no purpose in our lives, no reason for this program, no reason to place your confidence in God. But Jesus did rise again, just as he said he would. As I mentioned at the beginning of today's Pathway to Victory, we decided to extend our special offer to receive the stunning publication called The Power of the Cross.
Please go to ptv.org to request your copy. This exclusive photo essay contains many of my favorite pictures from the Holy Land and depict the Holy Week of Jesus Christ, which began on the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and ended with his glorious resurrection on Easter morning. And I'm confident that this coffee table book will keep you and your family focused on Jesus and grateful for his work on the cross for many years to come. A copy of The Power of the Cross is yours when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. In fact, when you respond today, my book will arrive at your home with a helpful booklet called Three Days that Changed the World. This brochure illustrates the hour-by-hour account of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And in the time remaining today, let me affirm that God is using Pathway to Victory to touch the hearts of men and women all across America and around the world.
We have ample evidence of that. In fact, we've heard from newlyweds, single moms, widows, and people from all walks of life who learn of God's grace through Pathway to Victory. On their behalf, thank you for making this program possible. David?
Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you get in touch with Pathway to Victory and give a generous gift, you're invited to request The Power of the Cross, a brand new large print book that outlines the week leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just call 866-999-2965 or visit our website, ptv.org. Now, as you give $75 or more, you'll also receive a brand new eight-part teaching series called Live from Israel.
These dynamic messages were preached on location in the Holy Land, and they come on both DVD video and MP3 format audio disc. Today and tomorrow, though, are the last days this offer will be available, so please get in touch right away. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to send your donation by mail, write to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
That's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. Join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress shares a message called Life's Most Important Choice. That's right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash podcast and click on the donate button or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
