Resurrection: What Happened . . . What Didn't?, Part 1

From the beginning of the year until now. Chuck Swindoll has presented a verse by verse study through the gospel according to Matthew today on Insight for living about us to follow along in the final chapter of Matthew we read about Jesus parting words to his disciples. This is a brand-new teaching series that concludes on Fridays program is called the King of Kings to set the stage for what's ahead will take a moment to read the passage at hand title this message resurrection what happened. What are rapidly moving toward the end of our study in Matthew, we have come to the final chapter of Matthew 28. I'll be reading from the new living translation verses one through 15.

In this last chapter, which is normally a passage you would read or pay attention to on Easter Sunday, but every Lord's day is a resurrection day of celebration. So that is today as well.

We think of the marvelous miraculous bodily resurrection of Jesus from the great, and there are always new truths to discover Matthew 28 verse one early on Sunday morning as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalena and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled inside the stone and set on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

The guard shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. Don't be afraid.

He said I know you're looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn't here he is risen from the dead. Just as he said would happen, see where his body was lying and now go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee to Galilee.

You will see him there. Remember what I've told you. Verse 11 as the women were on their way.

Some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests.

What happened a meeting with the elders was called and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe.

They told the soldiers you must say Jesus disciples came during the night while we were sleeping and they stole his body. If the governor hears about it will stand up for you so you won't get in trouble so the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say their story spread widely among the Jews and they still tell it today. Amazingly more believe that live and believe the truth more believe the words of critics and skeptics believe those who were living in that day and never before or afterwards lied to us, but somehow think they lied to us about the resurrection. Not so grateful we are for the truth to live by and to die.

Study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures by going to Insight world.org/studies another message from chart titled resurrection what happened. What didn't they thought it was gone forever. The situation was absolutely impossible. His friends felt that they had seen them for the last time. Even his mother doubted that she would ever ever see her son again along with all the other odds against him. There was this massive stone that must've weighed over well over half a ton that pushed him, kept him from walking free again. It was awful tragic. In fact, it really looked like he was gone forever. His name was Erin Lee Ralston 27-year-old Phi Beta Kappa student from Carnegie Mellon University. Beloved exciting things and so he took up mountain climbing so devoted to it that just the normal kind of mountain climbing didn't really interesting. It was determined to climb all of Colorado's 14 years, those peaks that ranged 14,000 feet and in higher, but to Ralston. The challenge was intensified because he would only climb at night, preferably after midnight and always in the winter months when it was snowing when there was ice and strong wind. On this particular night he was climbing in the blue John Canyon up near Moab, Utah. As he was crawling across a huge boulder another one inadvertently slid loose and fell on pinning his right arm and hand against another stone pushing the boulder off was an impossibility chipping away at the stone with his free hand waste of time was even able to use his climbing gear to dislodge that massive boulder that lay pressed against his arm. He was stuck there for five days began to dehydrate to survive. He drank his own urine finally carved his name in the stone as well as his date of birth and what he presumed was his day of death delirious and desperate since his hand by now had died, as well as the wrist area and on up into his forearm. He made an incredible decision.

He would cut that all his body he would amputate his own forearm just above the wrist including of course his hand. All he had was a knife with a dull blade small pair of pliers and with that he broke both bones in the arm.

He talked and pulled away at the tough tendons saw the skin. Finally, after an hour accomplish the amputation.

He was free cell phone to call for help was an 8 mile walk back to his vehicle, which included at 1.65 foot sheer cliff that he would rappel down using his good arm and good and with the rope that he had he made he made and by the way since then with the prosthesis now in place of what was once his hand is now scale all the 14 hours and the last time I read about him.

He was making his plans to climb Everest 29,028 foot Mount Everest, the highest mountain on the plan now.

With that in mind, have I got a story for you if you think cutting yourself free from a boulder by cutting off your own hand and forearm is a remarkable thing because you have lost life in that part of your limb walking out of a grave, having lost your life. Earlier if you think it's remarkable what Ralston did their near Moab mutual about the miracle letter that occurred outside of Jerusalem so significant and so miraculous that he would be risen from the dead and immediately skeptics got together and plan to lie about. To this day it's being told you were taught it at your university.

I heard it in my high school soda.

Many of you, how much easier to pay believe a lie and go with what one would call an unexplainable miracle summer trying to prove he didn't really die sort of swoon and came back to life. It's about pushed away a ton that the tonnage of that stone slipped out into the night. Others believe he did in fact die but he was still his enemies did want to steal it because they want to buy think he was raised the dead and his disciples couldn't have because it place was so well gardens bone was sealed, and what would they do with the dead body anyway and by the way, they never found the cadaver skeleton to this day. Don't think they haven't looked so now were left with the decision and you and I can read evidence as we will today and we must come to terms with what it says and determine either. Matthew decided when he got to the end of this story to lie to us or he continues to tell us the truth as does Mark, as does Lou and 60 years later, as does John in even greater detail.

So you're left with the decision to believe the prophet who tried to convince you of some fake news. I had to throw that in or are you going to believe early on Sunday morning is a new day was dawning.

2 Women Were Making Their Way to the two suddenly don't miss that the word conveys the idea of total unexpected, totally unexpected.

They expected guards silence and dead were they in for surprise.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake.

This is another earthquake beyond the one we mentioned last time that occurred at his death is not one earthquake, an angel is here moving back the stone not to let Jesus out.

He's already out, but to let SCN to see that the grave is empty. There's nobody in their but I getting ahead of myself before I go too quickly into the story was to stay with the angel, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven stop. I have never seen an angel. I've never heard an angel moving her all about us because they are invisible supernatural creatures curious about our worship and learning from us as we worship their appearances are rare, in spite of what you may read on many books about angels and many people who see them all the time may have been a bed talk over the night before may have been a really good imagination, but this is a real angel that is frightening.

This angels from heaven his abode only by the way your mail on the loss is is a noun in the is it is a is a masculine ending so that they are all adults are no baby angels shoot little arrows on Valentine's Day nonsense. These are all adult there all incredibly strong. The word means messenger. That's what they do.

They run errands for the God of heaven is in this case, he was sent to convey the message of the resurrection exactly what he does. They are wonderfully obedient before we see what he says.

Please observe his face.

Verse three shone like white you and I not study lightly.

We only see what we call a flash of lightning. But it's bright bright enough to light up the middle of the night as it flashes through the sky.

But this face is like that kind of light you've never seen a face like and also the garments worn are white as snow. I can't imagine what the boys must've been like, like rolling thunder. Maybe like a massive waterfall plunging down hundreds of feet, but the voice itself is frightening. The faces frightening the appearance of one that suddenly is there is frightening. That's why most often the first words from an angel lips are. Do not be afraid because we are normally as earthlings afraid of supernatural creature. They are rare in their frightening in our terms though we have nothing to be afraid of with these messengers of God sent most often to help some time to warn occasionally to charge but here is one who comes with a message and they shook with fear when they saw him who did look at the verse verse verse up for it is told us the guards shook with fear when they saw the angel they fell down as if in a dead faint.

Since this translation, then the angel spoke to the women look at the words don't be afraid I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to convey a message to you. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn't here referring to the tomb.

He is risen from the dead.

Just as he said would happen. I know I'm going over this in an almost tedious manner, but this is the truth. Matthew records. This is what the critic attracts so hear the truth.

Give it a chance. The angel says he isn't here he is risen from the dead. Just as he said would happen, for the angel was convened and communicated his message now look at what he says next, see where his body was lying again stop Joseph and Nicodemus had taken the limp, lifeless body of Jesus wrap in money like fashion, which is how they embalm the bodies in the first century.

Certainly in the Middle East and had brought the limp body into the true Joseph's new to lay the money like body on this's slab with a headpiece around prying the chin up against the job and talked all and left there now Jesus has been raised from the dead, and is out of the two. What is it mean calm and see where his body was lying. His body is out so look at slab that really would tell the nothing but they saw told him everything. Listen carefully, they saw the wrappings in perfect shape of the body with nobody within lying on the slab. Had there been a kidnapping of the body.

No one either would have or could have rewrapped a hollow space where there was nobody you'd throw it aside like you throw aside covers in the morning. Off the bed.

Listen to the late chaplain of the Senate, Peter Marshall in his work titled the first Easter they saw the linen wrappings lying not on wound and carefully folded as some people think not thrown aside as a covering when one rises from bed, but lying there on the stone slab in the shape of a body mute but eloquent evidence that a living organism had come out. He continues the great clothes lay like the shriveled. Michelle of a cocoon left behind when the mall has emerged and hoisted her bright sales in the sunshine, or more accurately, like a glove from which the hand has been removed and the fingers of which still retain the shape of the hand, the late Darrell taking while teaching at Wheaton College wrote this the word used to describe the head call does not connote a flat folded square but a ball of claw bearing the appearance of being rolled around an object like a head that was no longer there.

Now we got something when the angel says, look for yourself. This is the same evidence that Peter and John both had the foot race to the tomb shortly after this event right here. John tells us about in-depth and they walk in and you can see the men in silence staring at this evidence is eerie unless you remember, he's the one who said I will be crucified in the third day I will rise from the dead and we read that as John looks at the evidence and Peter. It clicked the light went on and they put it together. It's Until then they never expect when Jesus told him to be raised. They were so struck by his death.

They could not tolerate anything more is so grieved them to think they would be without him they couldn't imagine things like this. No one is ever before been resurrected from the dead Summit been resuscitated, but never resurrected, presenting his final week of studies in the gospel according to Matthew listening to the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindoll and to learn more about the ministry of insight for living. Please visit us online@insightworld.org. Our study through the book of Matthew started almost a year ago.

It's a brand-new teaching series never before presented on this program and in the final five programs of this expositional verse by verse study. I want to remind you the check for the comprehensive commentary on Matthew was, well, now's the time to request your copy while it's fresh on your mind because of the scope of this study. The commentary on Matthew comes into hardbound volumes for a combined total of nearly 700 pages of inside an application for anyone who loves the Bible and wants to learn more. This two-volume set on Matthew will provide inside an application for many years to come. It's called swim those living insights on Matthew and you could purchase a copy right now by calling us if you're listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 or to view these books were to place your order quickly and efficiently go directly online to insight.org/offer you often hear me say it's not the purchase of products that sustains this nonprofit ministry. Instead, insight for living is made possible through the voluntary gifts of friends like you who value checks, teaching and want to share this program with others. So thanks for remembering the importance of your generous support, especially after the holiday season to give a contribution by phone callers listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or to give a donation online as it is insight.org. These final messages are study of Matthew culminate by listening to the great commission of Jesus to make disciples around the world.

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