Gtcotr/ss032716
Philippians 3 NKVJ
10 That I may know Him and
the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death,
There
were so many who knew Jesus in the power
of His life and in the power of His
death.
·
The
little woman who touched His clothes and was healed knew Jesus in His life
·
The
multitude knew Jesus in His life
·
The
woman caught in adultery knew Jesus in His life
·
Even
Judas Iscariot knew Jesus in His life
o They knew Jesus as
§ Helper
§ Healer
§ Provider
§ Friend
The life of Jesus was filled with
healings and miracles. Jesus was on a mission to seek and to save the lost.
During His life He was found reaching out to and spending time with sinners and
those of questionable character or the poor, sick, downtrodden and castaways.
Jesus chose to fill His life helping and teaching, providing and encouraging
those in need of a Savior.
·
The
thief on the cross knew Jesus in His death
·
The
Roman soldier at the cross knew Jesus in His death
·
Both
Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus knew Jesus in His death
o They all knew Jesus
as
§ Savior
§ Redeemer
§ Messiah
§ The Lamb
The death of Jesus was full of agony.
Betrayal, lies, hypocrisy, false accusations, abusive beatings, sorrow,
loneliness and grief surrounded the Savior as He walked the path to Calvary.
Beaten and rejected, unjustly sentenced and wrongfully condemned to die, Jesus
was nailed to a wooden cross and crowned with thorns, His side was pierced and
He was given vinegar to drink. Heartbroken and alone Jesus died for sins He did
not commit so that others could claim the forgiveness they did not deserve.
There were so many who knew Jesus in the power of His life and in
the power of His death.
However
that’s not the end of the story … The message of the New Testament is not
complete without the power of His resurrection.
Many men have spent their lives to help and heal, to provide and befriend. As
well many have given their lives in sacrificial acts of love as a ransom for
others. Good men abound in the annuls of history – however, only One lived a
sinless life, died an atoning death and entered into the bowels of the earth to
defeat satan.
Only
One took the keys of death and hell from the devil’s clutch. Only One was
raised by the power of the Holy Spirit and lives to reign forever as the Lord
of all glory. Only One holds the eternal title as Healer, Redeemer and the
eternal King of all Kings … It’s because of the resurrection and His Name is
Jesus!
I want to know Him
in life;
I want to know Him in death … but as
the Apostle Paul so fervently declared – I live as I live, believe like I
believe, and I do what I do:
Philippians 3 NKVJ
10 That I may know Him and
the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His death,
11 if, by any means, I may
attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already
attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that
for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count
myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which
are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Both
life and death can be a press but thanks be to God our Heavenly Father who has
given us a power that is beyond this life and greater than death. O that I may
know Jesus and the power of His
resurrection!
A life filled with
goodness and a death full of pain, the Messiah was laid in a borrowed tomb.
The devil imagined he had won the victory over God and His Son … but he was
wrong! The real power was yet to come!
Taken
down into the pit of hell covered in the sins of mankind Jesus was led like a
sheep to the slaughter … He opened not His mouth. Once standing face to face
with the devil who had power over death Jesus, Son of God, Messiah of the Jews
and Savior of the World, took His opportunity and bruised the serpents head,
took the keys of death and hell, preached the Gospel to the prisoners of death,
destroyed principalities and powers, made a show of them openly and triumphed
over them once and for all and set the captives free.
Then
on the third day Jesus rose from
hell and the grave, His Spirit re-entered His Body and He raised Himself up
from death by the power of the Holy Spirit of His Father God. An angel
descending with the earthquake rolled the stone from the tomb making the
soldiers as though they were dead and opened way for Jesus to walk out of that
grave alive forevermore as the undisputed King of all Kings and Lord of all
Lords, victorious over sin, death, hell and the grave.
If
that same power which raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you it will make
your mortal bodies truly alive. (Romans 8:11)
The resurrection of
Jesus
is filled with power and majesty. The wrongs were made right and death lost its
sting. It’s the resurrection of Christ that seals Him
as the only Son of God and Savior of the World. O that I might know Him
and the power of His resurrection and fellowship of His sufferings and be
conformed by His death. What a Savior … what a Friend!
Certainly
we understand the disappointments surrounding those followers of Jesus 2000
years ago when after they had witnessed the power of His life and then the
trauma of His death, they imagined all was lost. It had to have seemed like a
dream, perhaps more like a nightmare … Jesus had been betrayed, arrested,
accused, beaten, tried, found guilty, sentenced, condemned to die, forsaken,
crucified and buried … and all of that had only been 3 days ago … What more
could happen?
Mark 16
1 ¶ Now when the Sabbath was
past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
2 Very early in the morning,
on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had
risen.
3 And they said among
themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for
us?"
4 But when they looked up,
they saw that the stone had been rolled away — for it was very large.
5 And entering the tomb, they
saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and
they were alarmed.
6 But he said to them,
"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is
risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
7 "But go, tell His
disciples — and Peter — that He is going before you into
Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."
8 So they went out quickly
and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said
nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
The
account continues as Mary went to inform the eleven disciples as to what she
had seen and heard. It must have been daunting to see them refuse to believe
her report … nonetheless, she pressed on.
Matthew
28, Luke 26 and John 19 tell the story of Peter and John who then ran to the
tomb and finding it empty they went away perplexed. Mary pressed on supposing
the caretaker had moved the body of Jesus to another place since this was the
private tomb of a very wealthy and politically influential business man. When
she attempted to question one she assumed was the caretaker she found it was
Jesus alive and well. He comforted her and sent her on a mission to go and
tell.
That
evening Jesus appeared to His disciples and rebuked them for their refusal to
believe Mary and her testimony of His resurrection. Over the next 40 days Jesus
also appeared to more than 500 people before giving His last Great Commission
in which He commanded His followers to press on and to go and tell others the
Good News.
Jesus is alive!!! O, that I might
know Him, in life, in death and in the power of His resurrection.
What
is this power? It is the power to defeat the devil and to live above the confines
of sin, death, hell and the grave. We have a risen Savior who has given us a
power to outlive this world and all of its trouble.
Paul
said “to live is Christ and to die is gain!”
Those
who are yet unconvinced of the resurrection of Jesus cannot be secure in their
eternal life.
When
commenting on the passage in John 19 concerning the resurrection John Calvin said:
“The weakness of faith is manifested when the confession of faith is
withheld.”
Confess
your faith in the risen Savior and in His singular rightful claim to the
eternal throne of God’s grace. Believe the Good News and
Happy
and Power-Filled Resurrection Day!
