Witnesses of Jesus' Resurrection: A Call to Every Believer

I'm not going to ask too many questions, but it may be that some of you have been to court and that some of you have been to court to serve as a witness. If so, that's quite a responsibility. I think if I bore that responsibility, I'd probably be quite nervous. I've never been to court for any reason. However, I often serve as a witness to people's character when they apply for a new job. I also often serve as a witness to people's identity when they apply for a new passport. But my greatest privilege and joy and responsibility is to witness to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But I want to suggest to you that witnessing to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is not simply the task of the so-called professionals, that is, people like myself, it is also the task of every believer. And this is really what we're going to be thinking about this morning. If you've got your Bibles with you, please have them open and glance down at verse 48, where Jesus says to his disciples, you are witnesses of these things. You are witnesses of these things. And we're going to think about these words of the Lord Jesus under two headings. Firstly, what things were they to witness to?

And secondly, when were they to witness to these things? Firstly then, what things were they to witness to?

The disciples are in the upper room and the doors are locked. They're hiding for fear of the Jews. The two disciples who walked along the Emmaus Road with Jesus have entered the room and they have shared their story. Verse 34, it is true, they say, the Lord has risen.

Simon Peter has also seen the risen Lord and he no doubt has also shared his story. And suddenly, Jesus stands among them and says to them, peace with you. Peace be with you. And what is the disciples' reaction to Jesus' sudden appearance? They are startled and frightened. They think they are looking at a ghost or a spirit. But Jesus, verse 39, along with verse 40, seeks to reassure them, doesn't he?

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see. A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. Now I don't know about you, but I find verse 41 particularly interesting.

I had to spend a little bit of time this week trying to sort of get to grips with what's actually being said here. Verse 41, and while they still did not believe in because of joy and amazement, he asked them, do you have anything here to eat?

The text says that they don't believe. And yet at the same time, it says that they're full of joy and amazement at seeing Jesus. How can there be disbelief and joy at the same time? Well, perhaps an illustration will help.

Imagine on Christmas morning, mum and dad go to the front door and their daughter is with them and they open the door and there on the drive is a lovely new car and it's wrapped up in this beautiful red ribbon and mum and dad say to their daughter, happy Christmas. And you know, she can't believe her eyes. And what comes out of her mouth are these words, surely not, you must be pulling my leg. Is that really my car? That's the kind of thing that's happening on the part of the disciples. There's joy, there's excitement. Here is Jesus, but can it really be him? Can he really be alive?

Of course it is him, isn't it? He's risen from the dead. And going back to verse 39,. You must be pulling my leg. Is that really my car? That's the kind of thing that's happening on the part of the disciples. There's joy, there's excitement. Here is Jesus, but can it really be him?

Can he really be alive? Of course it is him, isn't it? He's risen from the dead. And going back to verse 39, we see him inviting them to touch him and to see that he is flesh and blood. In verse 42, we see that he eats a piece of broiled fish in their presence. You see, Jesus' resurrection is not just some kind of spiritual resurrection. It's a literal bodily resurrection. Well, verse 44, then comes the instruction.

He said to them, this is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that was written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms. In other words, everything that's been written about me throughout the Old Testament scriptures must be fulfilled. And then we read that he opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures. And he told them, verse 46 and following, this is what is written. The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. To what things will they be witnesses?

Three things. Firstly, the scripture's testimony of Jesus' death.

The scripture's testimony to Jesus' death. How did the Old Testament witness to the death of the Lord Jesus? Well, think of the Passover lambs.

Think of the ram that was caught in the thicket when Abraham went to the mountain thinking that he was going to sacrifice his son Isaac. Think of the bronze serpent that was put up on a pole in the desert or in the wilderness so that all in the camp who were bitten by snakes and looked at it could live. The Old Testament speaks of Jesus' death by means of time. But think too of the words of the prophet Isaiah as he speaks about the suffering servant of the Lord, Isaiah 53 and verse 12.

Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors, for he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Or think of the words of Psalm 22. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me, they pierce my hands and feet. All my bones are on display. People stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. This psalm was written about 1,000 years before Jesus came into this world. And as far as we know, crucifixion did not take place there.

Yet in this psalm we have a detailed description of what Jesus experienced on the cross. You are witnesses of these things. Secondly, they would witness to the scripture's testimony of Jesus' resurrection.

How did the Old Testament witness to Jesus' resurrection? Again, by means of time. Think of the well-known story of Jonah. Jonah was thrown over the side of the boat in the midst of a raging storm. God saw to it that a large fish swallowed him. And the Bible tells us that he spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish before it spat him out onto dry ground. Well, Jesus himself saw Jonah's experience as a picture of his death, burial, and resurrection.

Listen to what he said, Matthew 12 and verse 40. The Son of Man, that was one of Jesus' favorite titles of himself, will be three days and three nights in the grave also. Yes, before he rises again. The Psalms said that the Messiah, that Jesus, would rise again. Psalm 16, verses 8 to 10, I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him in right. Listen to what he said, Matthew 12 and verse 40. The Son of Man, that was one of Jesus' favorite titles of himself, will be three days and three nights in the grave also. Yes, before he rises again. The Psalms said that the Messiah, that Jesus, would rise again. Psalm 16, verses 8 to 10.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body will also rest secure because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful ones see decay. You make known to me the path of life, and you will fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Now someone might say, but was the psalmist all those years ago really talking about the Messiah?

Was he really talking about Jesus? The answer is yes. The apostle Peter says so on the day of Pentecost. He tells us that David, who wrote the psalm, wasn't speaking about himself. No, he was speaking about the one who would come that would sit upon his throne. He was speaking about Jesus. Now of course the apostles could add their own testimony, couldn't they, to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

They were eyewitnesses of his resurrection, as we see in these verses. They saw him. They were able to touch him. They observed him eating in their very presence. But there was also this all-important witness of the Old Testament scriptures that they would testify to.

You see, it wouldn't just be their personal testimony that they would share. It was God's word that they would share. God's word, the Old Testament scriptures that spoke about the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Thirdly, they would witness the scriptures' testimony about forgiveness of sins being preached in Jesus' name to all nations.

Verse 47, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. There was a tendency on the part of the Jews to think that the Messiah would only be for them. That he would only bring salvation to the Jews. But they had not read the scriptures carefully enough.

You see, listen to what God said to Abraham. This is all the way back in Genesis chapter 12, the first book in the Bible. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you, that is through your offspring or through your seed. All the nations of the earth will be blessed through you, through your seed. And who was Abraham's seed?

Jesus. Listen to what Paul writes in Galatians chapter 3 verse 16 and following. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say and to seeds meaning many people, but and to your seed meaning one person who is Christ. God's salvation going to all the nations was also something spoken about by the prophets. In Isaiah, God says to the servant of the Lord, this is Isaiah 49 and verse 6, I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. The gospel of the Lord Jesus was never simply intended for the Jews. It was intended for all the peoples of the earth, for every tribe and nation and tongue.

Isn't it wonderful that this gospel spread all the way to this country, indeed all the way to Crockenhill and is being proclaimed Sunday by Sunday, even this morning in this local church. And you're here this morning and you're being given the opportunity to hear it. There is forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. He has died and risen so that all who come to him in faith and receive him as Lord and Savior might have their sins blotted out. We can be right before a holy God. We can be reconciled to God. We can spend eternity with God. This glorious gospel was intended for the nations.

God intended it that you should hear it this morning and be given the opportunity either to delight in it or at least to respond to it. Secondly this morning, when were they to be witnesses to these things?

And verse 49 of course provides us with the answer. I am going to send you what my Father has promised. Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. What was it that the Father had promised? And the answer is simply the Holy Spirit. How did Jesus know that the Father had promised this? Well, from the Old Testament scriptures, the prophet Joel had said, and afterward I will pour out my spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days. The Father had promised the Holy Spirit. Soon the Holy Spirit would come, but they had to wait.

And they did wait in obedience to the Lord Jesus. And on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was given to the church. He came upon his disciples. And we have to say, don't we, what tremendous witnesses they became. I'd like to talk for a little while this morning about Peter. Peter is an intriguing character. And you may remember that at the time of Jesus' trial, Peter tried to follow. And he did so all the way into the courtyard of the high priest.

But when asked the question as to whether he was one of Jesus' disciples, he was gripped by fear. And the Bible tells us that he denied Jesus, he denied his Lord three times. No doubt he was afraid of being arrested along with Jesus, and perhaps being crucified along with Jesus. And here on this particular day, you see, his fellow disciples are gathered in the upper room. There's this fear in his life. The doors are locked. He and the others are concerned about the Jews and what they might do to them because they were associated with this Jesus. Yet on the day of Pentecost, when filled or baptised with the Spirit, it's as if he becomes a different man, isn't it?

He is the same man. Of course he's the same man, but the Holy Spirit enables him to witness to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He empowers him, he emboldens him, he enables him to speak forthrightly and clearly. And I would invite you to go home this afternoon and read Acts chapter 2 because Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost really is quite remarkable. And of course he and others kept on witnessing to God's saving grace as the days went on, despite being imprisoned and flogged and told by the authorities that they were to keep quiet about this Jesus. You are witnesses of these things, Jesus said to his disciples. Now I think we must acknowledge that there was a uniqueness about the ministry of these disciples or of these apostles.

I think it would be foolish for us not to acknowledge this as we gather together this morning. These men were eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection and specifically commissioned by the Lord to be his authoritative witnesses. Let me put it in another way.

They were given a unique authority to explain the work and ministry of Jesus. And we now have what they taught in the New Testament, which along with the Old Testament has become the foundation of truth the church is called to believe and proclaim. I heard someone say very helpfully recently, the sermons of the apostles were written into scripture. Our sermons, your pastor's sermons are to be delivered from the scriptures. Do you see the difference? But she's called to believe and proclaim.

I heard someone say very helpfully recently, the sermons of the apostles were written into scripture. Our sermons, your pastor's sermons are to be delivered from the scriptures. Do you see the difference? The apostles' sermons, the apostles' teaching was written into the scriptures. Their teaching became part of scripture. Our witnessing, our teaching, our preaching today is from the scriptures. They were the authoritative witnesses. Jesus called them to be so.

I'm not an apostle. None of us are apostles. There are no apostles today, at least not those with a capital A like the Twelve were. They fulfilled a unique and unrepeatable ministry. But that said, we are still to be witnesses to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus as taught in the scripture.

And we too have received the Holy Spirit, if we're a Christian, so that we might be enabled to do so. And perhaps sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this. And we're feeling a little bit... Holy Spirit has been given to enable us to testify to God's saving grace. And of course it is our privilege and our joy, as well as our responsibility, to witness to him. I wonder this morning whether we need to renew our commitment as a church to witness to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. Where does the task begin? Well, the task begins at home, doesn't it?

It begins what we might call our Jerusalem. I wonder, who can we pray for? Who can we bring before the Lord each day so that we might have an opportunity to witness to them about the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? If we're not, of course, doing so already. You know, this Christmas time is going to provide us, isn't it, with lots of wonderful opportunity to speak of the forgiveness of sins that is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not begin to prayerfully consider who you might bring along to the ladies' event that Marlene has talked about already this morning? Or to coffee cup carols? Or to carols by candlelight?

Or even the Christmas morning service? We need to be proactive, don't we? We need to be in prayer. We need to be looking for opportunities, trusting that the Lord will grant them to us. But let's not forget that the task of the church is to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations.

Now, I know that not everybody can go. But we should be open to his call, shouldn't we?

We may be a small village church, but what good reason have we got not to send people out onto the mission field and to provide them with all the resources that they need? As we move forward from the book of Luke to the book of Acts, we see Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost and many, many people responding to the message and being converted and added to the church. And as Jesus said it would, the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Samaria, to the Mediterranean world. And more people were saved and added to the church. Now, I think that the church today is as big as it has ever been.

Though I hasten to add that there are still a number of unreached peoples, along with many who have never heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how can they believe and be saved unless someone preaches the gospel to them and they have the opportunity to respond to it? Listen to what Paul writes in Romans chapter 10. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Jesus gave a tremendous responsibility to these disciples to be his witnesses. But we too have been called to be Christ's witnesses.

Why hasn't Jesus taken us to be with him in heaven yet? beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Jesus gave a tremendous responsibility to these disciples to be his witnesses. But we too have been called to be Christ's witnesses.

Why hasn't Jesus taken us to be with him in heaven yet? Because he's got a work for you and I to do here upon the earth. It is to tell others about him so that they might have the opportunity to be saved. Friends, Jesus will build his church and the gates of hell or the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. But how will he do it?

He'll do it through his faithful witnesses. Will you and I agree to be faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ this morning? We pray so. It's our heads in prayer. Lord we thank you for your word this morning. We pray that we might be those who take up the baton so to speak. And seek to play our part in making the gospel of the Lord Jesus known. We pray that you would grant us opportunities to speak to friends and neighbours or work colleagues about the Lord Jesus over the coming days.

Help us to be much in prayer about that. Help us as we spur you as a local church seeking to make Jesus known. We commit all the things that are going to be running over the Christmas period to you and ask for your blessing Lord to be upon these meetings. May people come in response to invitations that are given. May they also respond to the glorious message that will be spoken. And we pray Lord that you would give us a real heart to see the gospel being spread far and wide. We thank you for the privilege of being able to get involved with worldwide mission. Lord we can't all go but we can play our part as we pray and as we perhaps write letters to encourage or maybe as we give.

There are so many opportunities. We can't be involved in everything but help us to be involved in some. So often we get caught up in the busyness of life.

But Lord this morning you've reminded us of something that's really important. Something of primary importance and we pray you'd help us to act upon what we have heard this day.

And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well we're going to stand and sing as we conclude our time together.

Number 622 you will know the tune. God's word and God's. Let's stand.