This morning I want to ask a simple question: “What does the resurrection mean for us?” I have found myself asking this question often. If there is one thing I am guilty of when I present the gospel, it is leaving out the resurrection. I often find myself so wrapped up in trying to show the atoning, propitiatory death of Christ on the cross that I leave out the resurrection altogether. And if I don’t leave it out, it is only because of conscious effort to mention it.
But why do I struggle so much with this?
I struggle because I have missed the importance of the resurrection in the course of redemptive history. However, as I have asked myself this question this week and looked at the passage I read this morning, I am convinced more and more of just how crucial the resurrection is for us. Because of this and because I don’t want you as a congregation to make the same mistake I have made, I want to try to answer the question as to the importance of the resurrection this morning.
And let me first start off by saying that the reasons that I will give you this morning are only a few of the many reasons that I see from the first seven verses of the book of Romans. Therefore, they are in no way exhaustive. The importance of the resurrection far exceeds the effects that I will list today. Thus, I encourage you on your own to explore such foundational texts as 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 4:25, and others, in addition to what I will share with you this morning.
With that said, the following four effects I think are apparent from this passage and should be understood in asking what the resurrection means for us.
So what did the resurrection accomplish? What does it mean?
Paul writes in verses 1-4, “Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Now, though that is a somewhat complex paragraph, light is shed on it by understanding Israel’s history and the history of the Old Testament.
God made a promise with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 saying, “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Yes, clearly in some sense Solomon fulfilled some of these promises, however, he could not fulfill all of them. For example, in verse 13 (above), God tells David that he will establish the throne of his son forever.
Now that means one of two things. It means that either there would be a kingdom of Israel forever, with king reigning after king, one after another forever. Or it would mean that one of them (the kings) would have to live forever.
Therefore, when Israel goes into captivity and is eventually destroyed, this first option is annulled. So for God’s covenant promise to David to be fulfilled, there would have to be one who would come along in the line of David who could be king and live forever. This is why Isaiah prophesies that it would have to be God himself in Isaiah 9.
These are the hopes with which we enter into the New Testament.
And it is why there is so much confusion and sorrow at the death of Christ. Remember the two men on the way to Emmaus in Luke 24? They say to the resurrected Christ (without realizing that it is he), “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days? … The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.” And then they say what I want you to hear this morning, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:18-21).
Do you see? Because Jesus had died, they believed that he couldn’t be the Messianic hope that they were looking for. They were looking for the Son of David – who would be able to live forever as the King of the Jews.
I wish we could feel their hopelessness so we could truly understand the joy that should be ours because of what we celebrate on this Easter Sunday.
For Jesus has risen. He is alive to live forevermore. Therefore, he is the Son of David. He is the Son of God. He is the risen king who will reign in an everlasting kingdom. He is the fulfillment of the promise to David.
That is what Paul is communicating when he says that Christ is “a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead” (1: 3-4).
The resurrection means that the Messiah has come; Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Christ.
Do you remember how I said that I used to get so wrapped up in describing the atoning death of Christ as a sacrifice for sins that I would forget the resurrection? Well, in reality, the sacrifice of Christ does not carry the stamp of approval (if you will) without the resurrection. And only with a living Lord do we have salvation.
Paul says that “Through whom [Jesus] we have received grace” (1:5). But that is only because of the resurrection.
Without the resurrection, Jesus is not declared the Son of God.
Without the resurrection, Jesus is not the living Lord.
Without the resurrection we would not be in Christ and have life.
And without the resurrection, man has no mediator with the Father.
These are all things that we need. Only the Son of God could atone for our sins. Only by having life in one who has the power to live forever can we have eternal life. Only with the Mediator, Jesus Christ making intercession for us can we stand before the Father. And only as the living, resurrected Lord can Christ be the object of saving faith.
I saved that one for last because I think it is so crucial for us to realize. Because Christ is shown to be an acceptable sacrifice in being raised from the dead, he can be an acceptable object of saving faith.
And the object of faith is what is so crucial.
Let me show this to you in the words of D.A. Carson. He writes,
“Imagine the first Passover, just before the exodus. Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones, two Hebrews with remarkable names, are discussing the extraordinary events of the previous weeks and months. Mr. Smith asks Mr. Jones, ‘Have you sprinkled the blood of a lamb on the two doorposts and on the lintel over the entrance to your dwelling?’” “‘Of course,’ replies Mr. Jones. ‘I’ve followed Moses’ instructions exactly.’”
“‘So have I,’ affirms Mr. Smith. ‘But I have to admit I’m very nervous. My boy Charlie means the world to me. If, as Moses says, the angel of death is passing through the land tonight, taking out all the firstborn in the land – I just don’t know what I’ll do if Charlie dies.’”
“‘But that’s the point. He won’t die. That’s why you sprinkled the lamb’s blood on the doorposts and on the lintel. Moses said that when the angel of death sees the blood, he will ‘pass over’ the house so protected, and the firstborn will be safe. Why are you worried?’”
“‘I know, I know,’ splutters Mr. Smith somewhat irritably, ‘but you have to admit that there have been some very strange goings-on these last few months. Some of the plagues have afflicted only the Egyptians of course, but some of them have hit us too. The thought that my Charlie could be in danger is terribly upsetting.”
“Rather unsympathetically, Mr. Jones replies, ‘I really can’t imagine why you’re fretting. After all, I have a son, too, and I think I love him just as much as you love your Charlie. but I am completely at peace: God promised that the angel of death would pass over every house whose door is marked by blood in the way he prescribes, and I take him at his word.”
Then Carson writes, “That night the angel of death passed through the land. Who lost his son, Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones?” (see note 1)
The answer of course is that neither of the men lost his son that night. They had what was required by God for the angel of death to “pass over” their houses that night.
Carson’s point and mine is that “The promise of deliverance, the assurance that we are accepted by Almighty God, is tied not to the intensity of our faith or to the consistency of our faith or to the purity of our faith, but to the object of our faith” (see note 2)
Your assurance for the forgiveness of sins does not waver on whether you just get through reading your Bible and are excited about the things of God or just got through jogging and feel like you want to sleep forever. Your assurance is wrapped up in whether the sacrifice in which you place your faith is an acceptable sacrifice.
For us, the resurrection means that Christ was an acceptable sacrifice that we might know the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. That is why Paul can say that we have been shown grace. It is solely because of the acceptable sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Paul writes in verse 5, “Through whom [Jesus] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about he obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.”
The Jews had been God’s people, and that was it. Therefore, if there was ever going to be a branching out, an inclusion of Gentiles as well, it would have to come from the mouth of the Messiah, the Risen King of the Jews.
It did.
Jesus, after being raised from the dead gave the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20 saying to his disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Therefore, we can (and must) go to all men everywhere, preaching that they should repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We should long for men over all of the earth to live to the obedience of faith in order that God might be glorified. For that is the reason Paul gives for such a task in verse 5, writing, “ … for His name’s sake.”
We are invited to throw ourselves into the task of drawing attention to the glory of God, and that is the greatest joy man will ever know.
Isn’t this odd? Well, for us who have been a part of this fellowship over the past year and a half, I hope not. But for others, or us in our common thinking, doesn’t this strike us weird? Even though we know the answer, doesn’t it still kind of get under our skin a little bit to think that we were created to draw glory to God?
But I will help you renew your minds to the truth this morning in two ways: first in asking you a question and second in reminding you of John 15:8-11.
First, let us remember the question we dealt with weeks back, “Would you feel more loved if God allowed you to make much of yourself or enjoy making much of him for all eternity?” Obviously the answer is the latter because there is so much more of God to enjoy.
That is also what Jesus is teaching us in John 15:8-11. We know that Jesus lived to draw attention to the glory of the Father. He then tells us that God is glorified when we bear much fruit. Next he commands us to keep his commandments and abide in his love, which brings forth much fruit. Therefore, you would expect him to say, “I have told you these things that you may do what is right” or “ … that you might be pleasing to the Father.” And that would have been fine. But instead he says, “These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (15:11). That is, that the joy that is in Christ in glorifying God might be in us and that our joy might be made full as we glorify God.
God has invited us to throw ourselves into the task of bringing attention to his glory, which is the most joyous and loving thing that he can do for his children. He has invited us to draw such attention from men all over the world.
But don’t forget, this is only possible because of the resurrection of Jesus, showing him to be the Son of God, showing him to be an acceptable sacrifice, enabling him to give us the great commission, and inviting us to delight ourselves in making much of him for all eternity.
May we worship the resurrected Lord today, and spread the news of his glory to the ends of the earth. Amen.