miracles and deliverance. lesson 11 lesson text—matthew 28:1-4 matthew 28:1-4 1 in the end of the...

Miracles and Deliverance

Lesson 11

Lesson Text—Matthew 28:1-4

Matthew 28:1-41 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.


3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.


Matthew 28:5-85 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.


7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.


Matthew 28:9-109 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Focus Verse—John 11:25

John 11:25Jesus said unto her, I am the

resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were

dead, yet shall he live.

Focus Thought

Jesus demonstrated that He had power over death by raising the dead at least three times in His earthly ministry. The ultimate

proof of His power over death was when He raised Himself from the

dead.

I. Jesus Demonstrated Power Over DeathIntroduction

Jesus’ resurrection constitutes the greatest miracle of all time. Along with His death on the cross, it signaled the turning point in human history. Paul claimed that if the Resurrection were fabricated, the basis of the Christian message would surely be shattered.

I. Jesus Demonstrated Power Over Death

Many vital things rest upon the foundational reality of the Resurrection (I Corinthians 15:12-18): the preaching and witness of Paul and his fellow ministers; our faith and hope; the forgiveness of sins; our confidence in the salvation of God’s people who have already passed away. Moreover, without the underlying hope of our resurrection from the dead, the entire structure of Christian belief would collapse. Without the Resurrection, Christ would have forever remained a dead Messiah and expectations would have died with Him.


Thankfully, however, Jesus’ tomb is empty! The same cannot be said for the founders of all the other religions. The empty tomb vindicated Jesus’ assertions, proving His claim of deity. While critics continue to assert that His resurrection is absurd, no doctrine could be more certain (Luke 20:37-38). Not only did Jesus prefigure that He would personally rise from the dead by His raising the widow’s son, Jairus’s daughter, and Lazarus, but also the New Testament writers repeatedly affirmed the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead.


(See Luke 7:12; Matthew 9:18; John 11:11.) This vital doctrine takes center stage in the New Testament, and early Christian preaching was saturated with the good news that although Jesus had suffered and died, He has risen. (See Hebrews 6:1-2; Acts 2:23-24, 36; 4:10.) Confidence in the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope for our future resurrection at the end of the ages (John 5:25). As the model of bodily resurrection, Jesus led the way for us (I Corinthians 15:20-23).


Those who are born again and endure to the end will joyfully experience their own bodily resurrection (John 11:25). For those following in His footsteps, Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection eradicate the fear and sting of death that otherwise haunt all mortals (Hebrews 2:14-15; I Corinthians 15:26, 55-57). By knowing that Jesus lives, we can rejoice in hope and boldly proclaim Him as the Savior of the world! (See John 4:42; Acts 2:26; 4:13, 31; 19:8; Romans 5:2; I John 4:14.)


Jesus Demonstrated Power Over Death

With the first advent of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God was present on earth in a powerful way (Luke 11:20). However, the presence of God’s kingdom had been experienced even in the Old Testament era, a time in which a relatively small number of people experienced temporary resurrections.


For example, Elijah raised a widow’s son from the dead (I Kings 17:17-24); Elisha raised the Shunammite's son (II Kings 4:18-37); a corpse tossed into Elisha’s tomb revived (II Kings 13:20-21); and Ezekiel prophesied to dry bones that subsequently came back to life (Ezekiel 37:3-10).

When Jesus appeared, however, He claimed to personally constitute the resurrection from the dead (John 11:25).


During His ministry, He wanted to make it clear that the seemingly audacious notion of raising Himself from the dead was not merely a pie-in-the-sky fantasy concocted by a delusional madman. To demonstrate that He was serious, Jesus buttressed His bold claim by disrupting funeral plans. Whenever Jesus attended a funeral, He was sure to raise the dead! The following examples are likely only representative of more resurrections that Jesus performed, since raising the dead was one of the features of His ministry. (See Matthew 10:8; 11:5.)

A. The Widow’s Son A. The Widow’s Son Near the city gate of the Galilean

village of Nain, Jesus and His disciples encountered a funeral procession. A widow had lost her only son. In the midst of tragedy and grief, Jesus “had compassion” on the widow and instructed her to cease weeping. Touching the bier, He commanded the corpse to rise, and the dead man amazingly sat up and spoke. This miracle brought fear on all who witnessed it, and they glorified God and spread the news around the region. (See Luke 7:11-17.)

B. Jairus’s Daughter B. Jairus’s Daughter In another episode, a ruler of the

synagogue in Capernaum, whose name was Jairus, urged Jesus to come and heal his daughter, who was near death. By the time Jesus arrived at the ruler’s home, the girl had already passed away. The mourners who were present ridiculed Jesus for stating that the girl was merely asleep. After expelling the crowd from the house, Jesus raised her from the dead, and the news of this miracle spread far and wide. (See Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26; Mark 5:21-24, 35, 38-40, 42.)

C. Lazarus C. Lazarus Arriving too late in Bethany to

heal His sick friend, Lazarus, Jesus asked to be escorted to the tomb. After requesting that the stone be removed and praying a short prayer, Jesus commanded that the deceased Lazarus arise. The man who had been dead four days walked out of the tomb, still bound in his grave clothes!


Jesus’ raising of Lazarus, considered subversive by the Temple authorities, proved to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. From that day onward, members of the religious hierarchy plotted to kill Jesus. (See John 11:33-35, 38-44, 53.)

II. Jesus Predicted His ResurrectionJesus Predicted His Resurrection

While Jesus attracted large crowds who wished to anoint Him king (John 6:15), He resisted misguided attempts to install Him as a political or military leader who would overthrow Roman rule. Repeatedly, the multitudes misunderstood the very nature of His mission.


He had come not to seek an earthly position and acclaim, but to travel to Jerusalem to suffer, die on a cross, and rise on the third day. Several times, He predicted that these things would happen to Him. (See Matthew 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 18:31-33; John 2:19-22.)

Sadly, though, His disciples failed to understand what He meant by these predictions (Mark 8:32-33; 9:32; Luke 18:34).


Even when confronted by the evidence of the empty tomb, many of the disciples struggled to comprehend the certainty of His resurrection (Mark 16:11; Luke 24:11; John 20:24-25). Along the road leading to the village of Emmaus, Jesus rebuked two disciples for failing to believe the news that He was alive again (Luke 24:13-26; Mark 16:12-13). Despite the disciples’ unbelief, Jesus had risen just as He had earlier declared.

A. Jesus Compared His Death, Burial, and Resurrection to Jonah’s

Experience

A. Jesus Compared His Death, Burial, and

Resurrection to Jonah’s Experience

In an attempt to have Jesus prove the claims He was making, the unbelieving scribes and Pharisees insisted that He perform a sign (Matthew 12:38). Jesus declined to oblige them, saying that an “evil and adulterous generation” would be granted no sign, except for that “of the prophet Jonas” (Matthew 12:39).


Jesus explained that He would spend three days and nights in the earth, just as Jonah remained for that length of time in the belly of a whale (Matthew 12:40). Unlike the wicked men of Nineveh, who after the prophet’s expulsion from the whale repented at his preaching, the people of Jesus’ generation would fail to respond to One who rose from the earth after three days. This generation would be condemned for their unbelief, for someone far greater than the prophet Jonah was in their midst (Matthew 12:41).

B. Jesus Said He Would Raise Himself

B. Jesus Said He Would Raise Himself

Although a few people arose from the dead during Old Testament times and Jesus raised the dead during His ministry, the Resurrection would prove to be unique. Jesus not only claimed that He would be raised, but He insisted that He would be the one who performed the miracle! After Jesus cleansed the Temple (John 2:13-17), the Jews asked, “What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?” (John 2:18).


Jesus replied that if they destroyed this temple, He would raise it up in three days (John 2:19). The Jews thought that Jesus was alluding to the Temple edifice, but instead Jesus was referring to His body (John 2:20-21). After three days, Jesus affirmed, He would raise up His own body!

Many Scriptures state that God raised Jesus from the dead. (See Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33, 37; Romans 10:9; I Corinthians 6:14; 15:15; Galatians 1:1; Colossians 2:12; I Peter 1:21.)


These passages do not contradict the assertion of John 2:19 that Jesus would raise Himself. Since all the fullness of God dwelt within Jesus Christ (John 14:10-11; II Corinthians 5:19; I Timothy 3:16), Jesus’ indwelling deity would raise His slain humanity.

C. Jesus Used a Seed as an Example of His Resurrection

C. Jesus Used a Seed as an Example of His

Resurrection A few days before the Passover, a

group of Greek proselytes who had traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast expressed a desire to see Jesus (John 12:20-22). When told this news by His disciples, Jesus responded with an analogy that would help explain His impending death and resurrection.


Just as a grain of wheat had to fall to the ground and die to yield fruit, Jesus likewise needed to suffer death (John 12:23-24). He was citing a principle that death must precede resurrection. Jesus’ death would produce much fruit, and His example of selfless service—even to the point of death—was to serve as the pattern to all who followed Him. Anyone who wished to be His disciple and experience resurrection would first have to die to himself (John 12:25-26).

III. Jesus Proved His ResurrectionJesus Proved His

ResurrectionJust as in our day, the time in

which Jesus lived had its share of skeptics who doubted His claims. The Sadducees, for example, denied the reality of a bodily resurrection (Matthew 22:23). Paul likewise encountered those who denied the Resurrection, including the Sad-ducees and certain members of the Corinthian church. (See Acts 23:6-8; I Corinthians 15:12.) To reject the Resurrection held serious consequences for Christian faith.


In affirming the Resurrection, Jesus and His followers were not asking that people embrace a fairy tale (Luke 24:11). Rather, they asserted that the Resurrection was a bona fide miracle attested by verifiable proofs. The truth of Jesus’ resurrection could be substantiated if one cared to examine the evidence. As Luke stated in his preface to the Book of Acts, Jesus “shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

A. Appearances for Forty Days A. Appearances for

Forty Days

The Gospels recount various disciples who witnessed the empty tomb on that fateful first day of the week. (See Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-9; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18.) Many others witnessed His post-resurrection appearances in Judea and Galilee during the forty days following (Acts 1:3).


Furthermore, Paul acknowledged that Jesus afterwards appeared to the twelve, including Peter (I Corinthians 15:4-5); five hundred believers (I Corinthians 15:6); James, Jesus’ brother (I Corinthians 15:7); and finally Paul himself (I Corinthians 15:8).

These post-resurrection appearances of Jesus could not be confined to mere personal or inner surreal events experienced by only a few. They were certainly not dreams or fantasies.


Rather, these post-resurrection appearances were public events witnessed by many people. So certain were the early disciples of the truth of the Resurrection that they risked their lives to proclaim its reality (Acts 15:26).

The disciples stressed that the risen Jesus had a physical or corporeal body. Jesus resurrected not as a spirit or phantom being, for in His resurrected state He had flesh and bones, bore the scars that remained from the Crucifixion (Luke 24:36-40), and could eat (John 21:12-15).


While Jesus’ post-resurrection body differed in some respects from His body before the resurrection, it was derived from the first body, and was in fact the same body in a transformed state (I Corinthians 15:35-41). It was a body that could no longer die (I Corinthians 15:42-54) and could miraculously pass through locked doors (John 20:19, 26).

I. Jesus Demonstrated Power Over DeathSome heretics of the late first and

early second centuries taught that Jesus did not possess an actual human body, but that He only appeared to have a real body. These heretics were known as Docetists, a term that comes from the Greek word dokein, meaning “to seem” or “to appear.”


The apostle John, in harmony with many others who had faithfully witnessed the living resurrected Jesus boldly declared: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (I John 1:1).

In John 1, John emphasized the tangible nature of Jesus’ body. Jesus had lived a real life, died, and physically resurrected. He was never a mere spirit being, as the Docetists were claiming.


To determine whether traveling missionaries who were making certain claims were in fact of God or not, John noted that they could be put to the test. They must confess that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” (I John 4:2). Moreover, any person incapable of making this confession was manifestly of the antichrist (I John 4:3; II John 7). We certainly rejoice today in the truth that Jesus was a real human—even after His resurrection—and not a mere spirit being!

B. Many Infallible Proofs B. Many Infallible

Proofs The evidence that Jesus had

been raised from the dead was indisputable. His resurrection was verified by “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). It was not a carefully fabricated scam concocted by His followers. Despite the attempt by the Temple authorities to make it seem so, the disciples did not steal and hide the body of Jesus.


Even before His resurrection, the scribes and Pharisees predicted that the disciples might attempt such a ploy (Matthew 27:62-66). Although the tomb was officially secured and guarded, however, Jesus indeed arose from the dead (Matthew 28:1-4). To cover up what really happened, the authorities bribed the guards into falsely claiming that the disciples stole the body, a rumor that continued to circulate for some time afterwards (Matthew 28:11-15).


To convince His followers that He had indeed arisen from the dead, Jesus offered evidence to those who encountered Him. Although many of the disciples at first did not believe the reports of His resurrection (Mark 16:11), they soon began confessing that it was the same Jesus they had known before His death because they witnessed it for themselves. Although she first thought He was the gardener, Mary recognized Jesus and addressed Him, “Rabboni” (John 20:16).


Jesus appeared to a group of disciples and showed them the proof of His hands and side, and they were filled with joy at seeing Him again (John 20:20).

Later, Jesus instructed the unbelieving Thomas to touch the scars on His hands and side (John 20:26-27). Without ever physically touching Him, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). John, the beloved disciple, saw the risen Jesus on the shore of Galilee and declared, “It is the Lord” (John 21:7).


After the disciples who were in the boat came to shore, they did not ask Jesus who He was, “knowing that it was the Lord” (John 21:12). Although some would still entertain doubts (Matthew 28:17), on another occasion His disciples worshiped Him as they held His feet (Matthew 28:9). These accounts together show that while some were initially reluctant to believe, they became convinced when shown proof that Jesus had returned from the dead.


Interestingly, some critics have put forth the so-called “Swoon Theory,” which argues that Jesus never actually died but merely lost consciousness on the cross. After a few days in this unconscious state, the cool temperatures within the tomb somehow “revived” Him and He simply walked out. This ludicrous idea actually takes more “faith” to believe than to accept that Jesus rose from the dead! Moreover, if this were true, how did He roll the huge stone away from the entrance to His tomb?


Together, the brutality of His beatings (Isaiah 52:14; Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), the fact that the Roman soldiers omitted the usual procedure of breaking the crucified victim’s legs to hasten death because they discovered that He was dead already (John 19:31-33), and the ramming of Jesus’ side with a lance (John 19:34), point unequivocally to His death rather than His falling into an unconscious state.


The hypothesis that Jesus blacked out on the cross is but another attempt on the part of skeptics to circumvent the truth of the gospel accounts. It takes a resolute, determined “unbelief” to disregard the claims made by the Gospels that Jesus literally died on the cross. Perhaps we should ask such a skeptic, “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” (Acts 26:8).

IV. The Resurrection Proved the Identity of Jesus

The Resurrection Proved the Identity

of JesusDuring His ministry, Jesus

repeatedly claimed that He would rise again (Matthew 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19). People widely misunderstood this claim, and even His disciples were cloudy in their understanding concerning the subject.


Their hopes that Jesus was the Messiah who would rise to military and political power and assume the Davidic throne clouded their vision of His dying and rising again and made such a thing unacceptable and even preposterous.

The Temple authorities imagined that Jesus meant He would destroy and then rebuild the physical Temple in three days (John 2:19-20). He was referring, however, to His own body (John 2:21).


Peter himself rebuked Jesus for teaching that He would suffer, die, and “after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). The disciples simply could not fathom the prophecy of Christ’s resurrection (John 20:9). In one instance, when Jesus informed them that He would be betrayed, be slain, and rise again, anguish filled their hearts (Matthew 17:23).


It was only after looking back, from the perspective of the empty tomb, that Jesus’ prior predictions of death and resurrection made sense to His followers (John 2:22). They began to realize that His death and resurrection were an integral part of His life’s work and mission. (See Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:28; John 3:16; 6:51.)

V. Jesus Is the Power of the Final Resurrection

Jesus Is the Power of the Final ResurrectionAs wonderful as Jesus’

resurrection was, it was but a foretaste of things to come. Paul pointed out that Jesus was “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18). (See I Corinthians 15:20, 23). Jesus inaugurated a wonderful process that would point the way for all those who would spiritually participate in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:4, 8; Ephesians 2:5).


Those who are saved by applying the gospel message of His death, burial, and resurrection (I Corinthians 15:1-4) and remain faithful to their calling will either be raptured or experience a physical resurrection from the grave (I Corinthians 15:22, 51-52). Upon the second coming of the Lord, a trumpet shall sound. First, “the dead in Christ shall rise” (I Thessalonians 4:16), followed by the believers who remain alive. Together, the two groups will “meet the Lord in the air” (I Thessalonians 4:17).


A preview of this upcoming event was witnessed at the death of Jesus when many deceased saints arose and entered Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52-53).

Jesus not only initiated the resurrection process, but He was also the One who would do the resurrecting on the last day (John 6:40, 44, 54). He was the very power and embodiment of the Resurrection: “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). A person who believed in Jesus, even though he was to die, would live again.


Jesus demonstrated that this was true by calling forth Lazarus by name from the tomb (John 11:43-44).

Lazarus would not be the only dead person who would hear Jesus calling, for Jesus claimed that at a future time all those in the graves who hear His voice will come out, some “unto the resurrection of life,” and others “unto the resurrection of damnation,” depending upon their works (John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:12-13). Certainly, Jesus is the power of the final resurrection!

V. Jesus Is the Power of the Final Resurrection

ConclusionThe resurrection from the dead is

foundational to the Christian faith. The apostolic church of the first century boldly declared that though Jesus had been crucified, He had arisen on the third day. They were not preaching a dead Savior, for Jesus was truly alive. His resurrection had been no accident. It had been foreshadowed in the Old Testament, and Jesus repeatedly affirmed during His ministry that He would rise from the dead.


His resurrection confirmed that He was in fact who He had claimed to be.

Jesus’ resurrection was prototypical. He was the firstborn from the dead, the first of many who would rise to new life. Not only this, but He is the resurrection and the life—present tense. He has the power—at any time whatsoever—to bring to life anyone or anything that has died.


The miracle of the Resurrection brings tremendous hope to those who have put their faith in His resurrection power. Our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Mark 12:27). Through His death and triumphant resurrection, Jesus has defeated “him that had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14). Now we no longer need to fear death (Hebrews 2:15), for the grave can no longer hold us! Nothing—even death itself—can separate us from God’s love!

miracles and deliverance. lesson 11 lesson text—matthew 28:1-4 matthew 28:1-4 1 in the end of the...

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