Complete Sermon Notes
The Three Greatest Deceptions
Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb
57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
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The bodies were often left for the wild animals, but not during the passover season.
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C.H. Spurgeon said, “It was a new tomb, wherein no remains had been previously laid, and thus if he came forth from it there would be no suspicion that another had arisen, nor could it be imagined that he rose through touching some old prophet’s bones, as he did who was laid in Elisha’s grave.”
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“He rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb”: Commentator David Guzik, “This was the customary way to seal an expensive tomb. A rich man like Joseph of Arimethea probably had a tomb carved into solid rock; this tomb was in a garden near the place of crucifixion (John 19:41). The tomb would commonly have a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being somewhat mummified with spices, ointments, and linen strips.”
KEY-Joseph of Arimathea made a significant sacrifice – He gave God his best. King David said, “I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” 1 Chronicles 21:24
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He got his tomb back a few days later.
Pilate Sets a Guard 62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
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On the next day: “It must mean that the chief priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the Sabbath with their request. If they did that, it is clear to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law.” (Barclay)
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We remember … how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise”: They remembered Jesus’ words, but His disciples somehow forgot them.
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While He was still alive: The “Swoon Theory” – fainting from extreme emotion.
A humorous letter to the editor at a Christian magazine says it all: Dear Eutychus: Our preacher said, on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered.
Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Eutychus
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People still say that His body was stolen:
Why? It’s deception – it’s spiritual blindness: don’t say Jesus at school, don’t say His name at public events, don’t say His name at AA –
THEY WANT PASTORS TO REPRESENT THEIR SPIRITUAL SIDE, BUT AVOID CONVICTION: 2 Timothy – “Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
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So the last deception is worse than the first:
The Three Greatest Deceptions Attack “Who” God Is –
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There is No “God”
Atheism – “without deities”
Science vs God – why not both?
Atheism says: If you can believe that God has always existed, why can’t i believe in evolution?
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), a British philosopher, wrote, Why I am not a Christian, and said it’s because he couldn’t answer WHO CREATED GOD! Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) echos the same concerns and Philip Adams said the following at the 2010 Global Atheists’ Congress in Melbourne Australia, “The great argument for God was that there had to be a Creation, a beginning. … But my objection was simple. If God was the beginning who began God?”
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What you believe is really determined by how you want to live.
CREATION.com – The universe had a beginning; almost no one disputes that, because the laws of thermodynamics demand it: the universe is running down and it cannot have been running down forever, or it would have already run down. No stars would be still churning out energy and we would not be here.
KEY: Either God has always existed or creation created itself.
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Look at our mind – the ability to remember – the ability to feel love and compassion, but also hate and anger.
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No “resurrection” – believe in God, but not Jesus
Believing in a God of our choice actually makes us god. Of course the resurrection is a stumbling block – this is where hell, death, and the grave were conquered.
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The wrong “god” – we were created to worship
Resembles #2 – but they conjure up many different deities
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Hindus believe in one Supreme God who created the universe. He created many Gods, highly advanced spiritual beings, to be His helpers.
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The Romans believed in many different gods and goddesses. Mars for example was the god of war. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, intelligence and learning.
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Greek mythology – siren would entice sailors to their death through obsession.
Do you believe that Jesus is who He said He is?
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STOP LIVING LIFE WITH A QUESTION MARK HERE – STOP BELIEVING LIES – STOP ALLOWING THE CULTURE TO SHAPE YOUR VIEW OF GOD!
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Accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of.
1 Cor. 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim [announce] the Lord’s death until He comes.
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God gave us the power to remember – imagine life without it.
– I don’t remember what God did for me? I don’t remember my children – or my family, or my life!
