John Hagee - The Power of the Resurrection
Here is the resurrection story. Last Thursday night 2,000 years ago following the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus of Nazareth was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. I have been to that garden many times. Just outside the Eastern walls of Jerusalem, his disciples slept, as he sweat drops of crimson blood from his brow. In agony, he cried out, «Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done». There will come a time in every believer’s life when you’re going to have to pray this prayer: «Not my will but your will be done». His destiny was the cross, because he was the Lamb of God, listen, slain from the foundations of the world.
These are the words of John the Revelator. Jesus went to his disciples, who were sleeping. And he said, «Couldn’t you watch with me for one hour»? The fact is, the disciples were sleeping in history’s most crucial hour in the life of Jesus Christ. Are we not doing the same thing right now in America? America is in moral, spiritual, economic, and political crisis while the church with its hot tub, feel-good Christianity slumbers in the day of spiritual crisis. It’s a time for a revival of righteousness in the United States of America, and that time is now. Suddenly, through the olive trees are seen the flaming torches of 500 Roman soldiers coming from the Antonian Fortress. They are surrounding the Lord of glory. And they said, «We seek Jesus of Nazareth».
Get this. Jesus was so ordinary looking: someone had to kiss him before the Romans knew who to arrest. Jesus said, «I am he». The Roman soldiers fell to the ground. They were full of armor with their swords and their shields, and yet they’re on the ground like dead men. Why? Because Jesus said, «No man takes my life: I lay it down». «You’re not taking it: I’m giving it». Rome could not convict him. The cross could not conquer him. The grave could not contain him. Satan could not defeat him. Why? Because he was and he is, and always shall be, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the conqueror of death, hell and the grave. And of his kingdom there shall never be an end.
Look at this scene. Jesus Christ said, «All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth». Jesus is standing, the portrait of absolute power. Roman soldiers were on the ground, trembling in catatonic fear, powerless. Jesus of Nazareth was, and still is, the mighty conqueror. He has conquered death, hell and the grave. He has conquered sickness and disease. He has conquered your fear and doubt. He has given you hope for tomorrow. He is still the Lord of glory. He is the still the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the alpha and the omega. He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is the mighty God. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the hope of glory. Put your hands together and give him praise in the house.
Judas, the deceiver, the devil’s advocate: Judas, who cherished money more than the master, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Peter slashed off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Why? Because the servant of the high priest was a Jew. And according to the law of Moses, he could not serve in the temple with a physical defect. By cutting off his ear, he had a physical defect, therefore Peter destroyed his career. Jesus healed the ear of that attacker. He restored his career. And he looked at Peter and said, «Put up your sword».
Now there’s a message here. And the message is that people are not won to Christ through violence. They are won by the demonstration of the love of God. Quit telling people how wonderful you are. Tell them how wonderful Jesus is. That’s the answer. Jesus was taken to Pilate, who said, «I find no fault in this man». By Roman law, the trial should have ended at that moment. But the pharisees were not after justice. They were after his life. He was then taken to Herod, whose men of war slapped him, and spit upon him, and placed a crown of thorns on his head, ripped off his seamless robe, and mocked him with a scarlet robe. They said, «Hail, king of the Jews. Tell us who slapped you».
Jesus was sent back to Pilate a second time while he was beaten with a Roman cat-o-nine-tails with 39 stripes. Thirty-nine stripes by Roman law, because more than 39 stripes was considered a death penalty. The Roman whip was laced with metal and with rocks. It had the capacity literally to rip the flesh off of your body. In the theatre of your mind, listen to the cat-of-nine-tails rip open the back of the Son of God. It was for you. It was for me. See the crimson stream of blood flow down his back onto the cobblestone floors, and say the words, «By his stripes, I am healed». «By his stripes, I am healed».
Those of you who are watching by television, the Jesus Christ of Nazareth that we serve is a great physician and he can heal you. Whatever your situation, however desperate you are, Christ is the answer to your healing. Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion on an old-rugged cross that was placed on his blood-soaked back. He dragged it slowly through the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem. From the whipping post to Calvary was approximately 650 yards of absolute agony. It was customary many times that between the whipping post and the crucifixion place, people would just collapse because of the loss of blood. When Jesus was carrying his cross, he saw the Jewish mothers weeping. And he said, «Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves. Weep for yourselves, and weep for your children».
Jesus knew the future. He knew that 37 years from that moment, the Romans would surround Jerusalem, and in a matter of months, kill a million of them, as the Romans under Titus captured 75,000 men, took them back to Italy to build the Roman coliseum. And the diaspora began. Jesus saw the eight crusades where hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered by the crusaders carrying a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. Jesus saw the Spanish Inquisition where 250,000 to 300,000 Jewish people were killed because they would not convert to Catholicism. He saw the horror of the holocaust by Hitler and his Nazis. Up the bloody slopes he climbed to the place called Calvary where atheistic hands nailed the precious Son of God to the cross.
Friday afternoon, April the 3rd, 33 ad, at exactly 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, bowed his blood-soaked head, adorned with the crown of thorns, and shouted in agony, «It is finished»! What’s finished? Death, hell, and the grave is finished. The power of sin was finished. Satan’s power to control your life was finished. Now, there is forgiveness of sin. Now, there is mercy with the Lord. Now, there’s a new beginning for every person here who has ever failed. Now, there’s hope for tomorrow. Now, there is peace in the midst of the storm. Now, there is joy unspeakable and full of glory. Now, the seed of the woman has crushed the head of the serpent, and satan is defeated. Now, the Lamb of God has become the lion of the tribe of Judah. He was, and he is victorious and Almighty! Give him praise in the house!
Before sundown on the sabbath, which was Friday, his followers took his blood-soaked body down from the cross. They clothed him with a hundred pounds of spices, and laid him in a borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. All night Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night, the giver of life lay dead in a tomb. Demons rejoiced that he, whom they feared, was dead. Politicians gloated, «We’ve shut up this troublemaker from Galilee, his boasting about an eternal kingdom, his boasting about being king of the Jews». The disciples scattered in terror, haunted by the memory of a blood-soaked corpse hanging on a cross, powerless and pathetic, naked and needy, the portrait of scandal, the portrait of suffering and shame.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, wept without consolation at the foot of the cross. Roman soldiers swaggered. His tomb had a Roman seal. He’s dead. Rome has the power to guarantee that he is dead. In the eyes of the world, Rome had destroyed the Nazarene. They said it was over. But not hardly. Satan was walking the corridors of hell, laughing in fiendish spasms of demonic joy: «I’ve finally won. I’ve finally won. From the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane, we have fought to see who would rule the world. Now, I am the conqueror,» satan said. Death was still all-powerful. The grave was still a dark, gloomy, unconquered pit. But then came the morning of the third day. The third day was the resurrection morning.
On the third day, angels swooped from the balconies of heaven and rolled the stone away, and he walked out the King of kings and the Lord of lords, victorious over death, hell, and the grave! Prophetically, we are living in the third day, you and i. The Bible says, «A day with the Lord is a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day». Hosea writes in 6:2, «After two days,» that would be 2,000 years, «He will revive us: and on the third day he will raise us up and we will live in his sight».
If we live in his sight, he’s there. The king is coming. What does the resurrection mean? It means that every claim Jesus made about himself and his kingdom was absolutely true. It means that there is eternal life for all who believe. The Bible says, «He that believeth in me shall never die». «Because I live, you shall also live». Say that with me. «Because I live, you shall also live». It means that Jesus Christ was in fact the Son of God. It means that he was indeed the Lord of glory. He was not some deranged lunatic saying, «If you destroy this temple, I will raise it up on the third day». He did it! On the third day, he did it!
The resurrection means that satan is a defeated foe. Satan is defeated. When you get down on your knees and mention the name of Jesus, every demon in Bexar county starts shaking. That’s how much power you have. You have the keys to the kingdom. «Keys» mean authority. Matthew 16:19, Jesus said, «I give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you bind on this earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on this earth shall be loosed in heaven».
You have, in prayer, the power to control everything that’s going on in your life by the power of binding and loosing. You have divine authority over satan’s kingdom. Demons tremble at the mention of Jesus' name. That’s a Bible verse. You have the authority over powers and principalities in the heavens. You have authority by Jesus' name. You have authority by the power of the Word of God. You have authority over sickness and disease. Saints of God, the prince of darkness cannot control you! Your chains were shattered on the old-rugged cross. Our God is a chain-breaker and a Waymaker! Hallelujah to the Lamb!
At the garden tomb, the angels gathered and asked the troubled followers of Jesus, «Do you remember what he said»? «Do you remember what he said»? The angel said, «He told you that he would be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. On the third day, he would rise again». And the Bible says, «And then they remembered all of these things».
Get this: for three days, they had been weeping. For three days, they had been feeling disillusioned and defeated. If only they would have remembered what he said. Some of you are walking around carrying burdens that God has already solved. He’s just waiting for you to wake up and cast them off and give them to him. The resurrection story is the story of faith over failure. It’s the story of how to turn your worst day into your best day. The thief on the cross, listen, this is a career criminal. He’s one heartbeat from hell. And he says, «Remember me when you come into your kingdom». And Jesus said, «This day you’re going to be with me in paradise».
I think we have made coming to Jesus way too complicated. Really. That man died and opened his eyes in heaven. For a hundred years, Good Friday was called «Black Friday». It looked like the worst day in the history of Christianity, because Christ, the giver of life, was dying. The healer was being called a heretic. The Lord of glory is being called a liar and a lunatic by the government. It was indeed Black Friday. It appeared to be the worst day ever. At 3:00 p.M. In the afternoon, the black clouds were boiling in fury over the cross. The ground shook. Dead men walked out of their graves. Did you know people in Jerusalem walked out of their graves on that day? They were seen by the citizens of Jerusalem.
The veil of the temple was split from top to bottom. It was ripped by the hand of God, so every person from that moment forward could walk directly into the presence of God and make your petition known. You don’t have to come through a priest. You don’t have to come through a preacher. You don’t have to come through a pope. You have access to God by going directly, in Jesus' name, to him. The Son of God who commanded wind and waves, the Son of God who healed lepers with a single touch, the Son of God who raised Lazarus from the dead with three simple words was hanging from a Roman cross, caked in blood, naked in shame and disgrace. The high priest was mocking him, saying, «If you are the Son of God, save yourself». But the fact, he could not save himself and save you. So he died, that you and I could live.
In agony, Jesus cried, «My God, my God, why have you forsaken me»? His chin fell on his blood-soaked chest and he died. It was Black Friday. But time has proved that this black, gloomy nightmare became the brightest day in the history of the church. The fact is, we really don’t know a good day from a bad day. You don’t. Because what you’re calling a bad day, sometimes is God just working out the problem. You just don’t see the answer yet, but God has it already worked out. And you’re over there grinding your teeth, wondering where God is.
God’s over there saying, «I wish he would just get by this and get on with it. I’ve got the problem taken care of». The case for the resurrection. What changed these disciples from cowards, who were running from the cross to the Sea of Galilee, hiding for fear? What changed them to become lions for God? Peter cursed and denied before an 18-year-old girl. Thomas was calling the New York times to expose this fraud, Jesus Christ, who claimed to be God. He doubted him to the last day. James, the brother of Jesus, didn’t follow Jesus while he was alive. But he was willing to die for Jesus as a martyr. Why?
Follow these 12 disciples. They were crucified upside down. They were beheaded. They were boiled in oil. They were exiled. They were fed to lions in the coliseum. Nero wrapped Christians in oily rags and burned them alive in his rose garden. Why were they willing to die? Why? Not for a blood-soaked corpse at Calvary, not for an embalmed rabbi in a borrowed tomb, not for a liar and a lunatic. They went from cowards hiding behind closed doors to lions of God, because they had seen the resurrected Savior. They talked to him. They touched him. They ate with him. They saw him ascend into heaven. Everywhere they went for 50 years, they had one message: «He lives. He lives. He lives». Give the Lord a shout of praise.
We preach the resurrection one day each year. But the disciples preached the resurrection every day that they preached. The testimony of Christ to John on the Isle of Patmos, «Do not be afraid: for I am the first and the last. I am he who was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore». In the book of Corinthians, saint Paul writes, «He was seen by more than 500 at one time». In the upper room, he was seen by the disciples without Thomas. He was seen in the upper room with Thomas. He was seen on the Emmaus road by disciples. And Jesus was seen by at least 552 people in 13 different times and locations. He was not a hoax. He actually rose from the dead. Consider this: critics of the resurrection say he never died.
Listen to their testimony. The four writers of the gospels said he died and was buried. The Roman guard, who was a professional at recognizing dead men, recognized that Jesus was dead and he came back to life. The foes who embalmed the body of Christ with a hundred pounds of spices that would have suffocated him, they knew him to be dead. It was a fact, Jesus that died is alive and well. He sits at the right hand of God the Father with power and great glory. He’s got good news. He’s coming back. The message is: are you ready? Can we stand to our feet together? Look deep in your soul and ask yourself, «If Jesus were to come before this preacher gets through, am I ready»? And if the answer is no, I want to have a prayer with you to get you ready. I don’t want to stand at the judgment bar and you say, «If you’d have made that a little clearer, I think I might have got it».
If you don’t have Jesus as the Lord of your life, you’re going to spend eternity in hell. That’s about as simple as you can say it. You’re in this room and you say, «Preacher, I’m not ready to go, but I want to get ready to go right now,» I want you to slip your hand up right now. Slip it up. God bless you. Let me see. God bless you. I want you to pray this prayer with me. Remember that thief on the cross? Very simple prayer. Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to forgive me of all of my sin, to cleanse me by the blood of Jesus Christ, to write my name in the Lamb’s book of life, that I might inherit eternal life and a mansion of splendor in heaven, a robe of righteousness, and a crown of life. These things I receive, because I pledge to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, as the king of my life. Amen. Give the Lord a shout of praise in the house.