Christ Raising Up The Dead

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Introduction — John 5:25-29>

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<²⁵Verily, verily, I say unto you,  The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. ²⁶For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; ²⁷And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. ²⁸Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

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I- Perhaps the most impressive aand comforting miracles the Lord performed

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A- During His personal ministry are those where He raised the dead back to life. 

 

1- In the fifth chapter of Mark we read the story of a ruler of a synagogue, named Jairus, who came to Jesus when his daughter became ill. He besought Jesus to come and heal his child.

 

2- But before Jesus could come, a mmessenger arrived to say that she was dead.   Jesus went on with Jairus to his home, and entering into the room where the man's twelve year old daughter lay, and I began  to read:

 

⁴⁰…… But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. ⁴¹And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, taliqa koum, which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. ⁴²And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. ⁴³And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.                                             Mark 5:40-43

 

1-   It must have been a warming experience for the disciples —- Peter, James and John, to witness a young girl restored to life, and presented to the mother and father. 

 

 

B- In the seventh chapter of Lukke we read another tender story of Christ's compassion. 

 

1- As soon as He came to the littlee village of Nain, there met Him a funeral procession carrying the only son of a widow to the place of burial. Christ was so touch and concerned that He stopped the procession 

 

2- And I began reading Luke 7:144

 

¹⁴And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.  ¹⁵And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. ¹⁶And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

 

THE WORD  ARISE — [ejgeivrw]  awaken and arise

 

C- The third and final time that the scriptures tell of Christ raising the dead

 

1- Is the case of His close and personal friend Lazarus of Bethany.  Mary and Martha, sisters of that most familiar family, were deeply distressed at the illness of Lazarus. They sent word to Jesus to come quickly, that Lazarus might not die.

 

2- Jesus purposely delayed His comiing until His friend Lazarus had died.  When Jesus arrives at the home, a very touching story follows as  described in John 11:21-34.. Jesus goes to the tomb to find that Lazarus had been dead for a period of four days.   Again I began reading John 11:43

 

⁴³And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. ⁴⁴And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.  

 

D- These stories are not the onlly accounts of the dead being raised back to life in the Bible.

 

1- A few were raised by the apostlees of Christ after He had ascended back to the right hand of God,  There were also a few account of the dead being raised in the Old Testament….  On only these three occasions, however are we told that Christ raised the dead.

 

II-  More significant than these resurrections where men were raised to die again.

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A-  Was the resurrection of  our Lord Himself.

 

1- After He lived a third of a centtury and had been delivered up and crucified, God raised Him up out of that grave. On that most significant  Sunday morning more than 20 centuries ago,  Mary Magdalene and the other women found that the stone had been rolled away, and found the tomb EMPTY.

 

2- Christ made special appearances as recorded in ——

1 Corinthians  15:3-8

 

³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ⁵And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ⁷After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ⁸And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

 

3- The great significance of this event  is that it substantiates the claim that Jesus was NOT MERELY MAN, proof that He was not merely a GREAT TEACHER but that He was the Son of God.

 

B- Let us consider a few passagees from chapter 15

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1- A chapter which deals with the rresurrection of Christ,  as an evidence of the ultimate resurrection of all men.    Beginning in verse 12

 

¹²Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: ¹⁴And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ¹⁵Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ¹⁶For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

 

2-   Then this great truth next verse 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

 

²⁰But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.   

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3-   The resurrection is one of the central promises of hope to Christians, when we die it is not all over… We will live again.

 

III- We turn from 1^st> Corinthians to the book of Ephesians.

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A-  Truly one of the mountain peaks found in the Scriptures:

 

1- At the end of chapter one theere is a paragraph of which I read:  Ephesians 1:15-23

 

¹⁵Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, ¹⁶Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  ¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  ²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, ²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

 

2- This paragraph is a tribute to our Lord, an exaltation  but notice the words  of verse 20    

 

²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places

 

B- That is the end of the chapter, the next begins with a change in subject.

 

1-   Now we are not talking about the resurrection of Christ from the dead, but the resurrection of man from the dead.  But it is not the same kind of resurrection.

 

2- Man was dead in sin; Christ was dead physically. Jairus' daughter, the young boy at Nain and Lazarus were raised from the dead physically, as was the Christ.

 

3- But when we come to the end of EEphesians one and began reading in chapter two the subject has changed: Now Christ is raising up the spiritually dead: Men without Christ are dead men —

 

4- When Paul went into Athens, he tthought of and addressed men who were dead. In Corinth and Rome men were dead — Dead in sin and trespasses.  

 

C- Hear the reading Ephesians 2::1 ff

 

¹And you did he make alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins; ²Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: ³Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.  ⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  ⁶And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁷That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

 

1- Notice the phrases: verse 1

<¹And you did he make alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

 

2- And  then in verse 5—  "⁵Even when we were dead in sins, hath us alive together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) "

 

3- Beloved as far as you and I are concerned, this resurrection is far better than the resurrection of our physical bodies.  The resurrection of man from his sins means that eternal life with the Father is possible.

 

D- In Paul's earlier writings hee stated in Romans 3:10; 23

 

<"There is none righteous, no, not one:…. ²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;".

 

1-  There is none who can be saved apart from the Christ for we all have sinned.  The story of Cornelius is a case in point. Cornelius was 

 

²A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.  Acts 10:2

 

2- But he was lost because he was not IN CHRIST — Cornelius was not a Christian.  He was dead in sins until he heard Peter speak words whereby he and his house could be saved. He was a DEAD MAN  outside Christ.

 

3- He heard the gospel and was raised from the death of sin. by his obedience.

 

IV- This passage includes somethhing else—

 

<²Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

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A- Who is this prince of the powwer of the air?

 

1- Our children could answer — theyy would say "the devil". And they would be right.  A few years ago Flip Wilson used the phrase " the devil made me do it."  But we live in an age when the devil is out of fashion…  Many believe in God,  He is real to folks, but the devil is unreal, we relegate him to the realm of mythology.

 

2- But I want to say to you that thhe devil is just as real as God. God is a spiritual being (John 4:24)  with a great spiritual host working for Him.    Satan is a spiritual  being and he too, has a great spiritual host working for him. He does not have a pitchfork and long tail…. but he is real.

 

3- If we believe in Christ we must believe in the existence and reality of Satan, because Christ told us that he exists.   John 12;31 and John 14:30.  Twice Jesus refers to Satan as  "the prince of this world".

 

4- Peter tells us:   1 Peter 5:8-9

 

⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: ⁹Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

 

V- The whole spirit of the New Testament emphasizes

 

A-  The urgency of getting the gospel to people.

 

1-   Why the urgency?  Because Jesus said those people are  dead folks      John 5:25

 

²⁵Verily, verily, I say unto you,  The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

 

B- Do  we believe that people are lost without the  gospel? Has  it  excited us lately:  

 

1- Young ladies  do you have this girl friend, beautiful, very        charming, hour-glass figure, complexion like peaches   and      cream? If she's not in Christ she's dead ,Young men do you have this friend, perhaps an  athletic, good looking,   big   muscles? Listen, if he's  not in Christ

 He’s A Dead  Man....

 

   2- Christ is the water of life.. You cannot get along without water. Christ is the bread of life.  And we cannot exist long without bread.. Christ is the Way..   We cannot travel safely without a way… Christ is the ONLY ESSENTIAL of life.

 

3-  And that is why it is such a pleasure to tell others about Him. And invite others to become a Christian.