The Cross of Christ and The Resurrection

In this sermon by James Fetterly, the central focus is on Isaiah 53:10, exploring the profound connection between the cross of Christ and His resurrection, emphasizing the necessity of both for the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation. Fetterly starts by reflecting on the cross's significance, which, without the resurrection, would be devoid of validation, vindication, and affirmation. He credits MacArthur for illuminating this connection, underscoring that the resurrection serves as God's affirmation of Jesus bearing our sins and satisfying divine justice.

Fetterly then shifts to the Apostles Creed, a Trinitarian statement of faith, to highlight the historical and doctrinal continuity of this belief. This creed succinctly encapsulates the Christian faith's core: belief in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the crucial events of Jesus' life—His conception, suffering, death, resurrection, and the eventual resurrection of believers. This, according to Fetterly, illustrates the intertwined nature of suffering and glory, humiliation and exaltation, rooted in the Christian belief.

Delving into Isaiah 53:10 and its context, Fetterly explains how this verse reveals God's sovereign plan—Christ’s suffering and the subsequent glory. This passage demonstrates the dual aspects of Christ's mission: His suffering as an atonement for sins and His exaltation through resurrection, portraying a clear picture of redemption and the hope of eternal life for believers.

Fetterly explores the broader implications of Christ's suffering and resurrection, such as healing from sin and sickness, and the promise of eternal life, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of Christ's work. He disputes alternative explanations for the empty tomb, arguing convincingly for the resurrection's historicity and its central place in Christian faith and theology.

The sermon concludes with a call to faith in Christ, highlighting the promise of resurrection and eternal life for believers—a message of hope and encouragement based on the assurance of Christ’s victory over sin and death, as foretold in Scripture and affirmed through the Apostles Creed. Fetterly’s message is a profound reminder of the cross and resurrection's central role in Christian faith, offering a detailed exposition of biblical prophecy, doctrinal tradition, and the transformative power of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Transcript

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This morning as you make your way in we will look at Isaiah 53 verse 10 and we want to see the cross of Christ and the resurrection. MacArthur has helped us connecting the cross and the resurrection by stating the following. Without the resurrection the cross means nothing for it has no validation, it has no vindication, it has no affirmation. But when God raised Jesus from the dead he was affirming and validating and vindicating the fact that he did indeed bear our sins in his own body on the cross and had satisfied the justice of God with his sin bearing. Without the resurrection the cross is meaningless, just another death. Well that is someone's thoughts on scripture for today but what if we were to step back into yesterday? How would the church chime in on this? Well I'm glad that you've asked because in the Apostles Creed those that have carried the torch the faith down through the ages gave us a Trinitarian confection. You'll notice that in this Creed it starts off with God the Father then it moves to God the Son and finally the Holy Spirit. Please note or recall the Apostles Creed where we confess this wonderful truth that I believe in God the Father Almighty the Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary he suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified died and was buried he descended to hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended to heaven he is seated at the right hand of God Almighty the Father and from whence he shall judge the living and the dead I believe in the Holy Spirit in the Holy Catholic Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting amen surely you see that in this confession that there is a belief a firm confidence that there's a cross and that there is a resurrection notice how the belief goes it is in to all three persons of the Trinity when we believe in God the Father in Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit we are brought into that one universal body the church how do we know that because we have communion with God's people his saints how is this accomplished because we have the forgiveness of sins that was accomplished on the cross what is the effect of our sins being forgiven that one day on that last day we will be raised not just in spirit but in body where we will dwell in a new heavens and a new earth with the one who covenantally redeemed us and that is life everlasting is this not a wonderful confession isn't this the creed that all Christians should recite all Christians should hold fast but notice in this creed that they talk about the cross yes and it gives us the sufferings of Christ he was crucified he died he buried these are the sufferings of Christ we would say that this is the humiliation of our Savior but not only is there suffering and humiliation there's exaltation and glory because he rose again from the dead do you see it suffering and glory humiliation and exaltation but it's not just that Christ rose from the dead he is the firstfruits of that and all of those that are in Christ all of those that believe in God as their Savior as their covenantal Lord they too were will have a resurrection of their physical body and they will rule and reign with him forever and ever amen how does all of that come across how is all of this accomplished because there was a cross yes he died and he rose again there is a resurrection suffering and glory suffering and glory I'd like for us to see this cross and this resurrection from Isaiah chapter 53 verse 10 in our copy of God's Word we will see once again suffering and glory cross and resurrection this prophet of old will give us yes these two great truths all found in one single verse hundreds of years before Christ ever took on flesh and dwelt among us this great prophet of the Lord says in verse 10 of Isaiah 53 yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt he shall see his offspring he shall prolong his days the will of the Lord shall prosper his hand now since we're in Isaiah 53 I would like for us to look at the previous chapter verse 13 who are we talking about in Isaiah 52 verse 13 it says behold my servant so we're talking about the servant of Yahweh we're talking about the servant of the Lord and we will see in this one verse that there is a divine plan and the divine plan has a sovereign action that accomplishes a most beautiful result it will start with suffering and it will end in glory yes there is a cross and there is a resurrection let's take a look at this more intently and I want you guys to see the plan the action and the result happening not just once but twice let's take a look at that first line in Isaiah 53 10 yet it was the will this is the sovereign predestined decree of God Almighty it is the will of the Lord in your Bible that is capital L capital O capital R capital D correct this is Yahweh the covenant keeping God an eternity platt past had a sovereign decree to crush him who's the him the servant the servant of Yahweh the father has made a plan to crush his son if that is the divine plan what is the sovereign action well this one is also negative we saw the crushing in that first part but in the second part it gets worse he that is Yahweh has put this is his action the the sovereign Lord has put his servant to grief first he crushes him and so that you get to understand this this is not just something that he planned out and then it just happened no God is working and willing this to occur he has put him to grief God the father was putting Christ through something excruciating well of course we know where the word excruciating comes from the Latin out of the crucifixion out of the crucible you know what happens in a crucible don't you you put some element in there and then you put your little pedal you're grinding and then you just fresh it you grind it down into a fine powder that was the will of God the father to take his servant God the son and actively put him to this grief the plan the action and what's the result it cost when he put them to grief his soul the soul of the servant the servant of Yahweh made an offering for guilt now remember John said behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world Pilate said six times I find no guilt in him he was the spotless lamb before the foundation of the earth and he lived out the law he obeyed all of the law he never transgressed one commandment in fact he told the Baptists Oh suffer it now that I must fulfill all righteousness he lived it all out and his life was a guilt offering for us who were guilty even though he was an oomat the plan the action and the result this was the death of Christ this was the cross of Christ this is where Christ became that Passover lamb that was the suffering but where's the glory let's complete the next part of that phrase see the servant made an offering himself his death his suffering his crucifixion yes all of that was suffering but then there is glory the result is that he shall see his offspring the servant will witness he will manifest even though he died he'll still see the end result of what was procured what was purchased his people how's that gonna happen if he died but that he came back to life again that he was resurrected remember it's suffering in glory it's cross and resurrection yes so if we've seen the plan if we've seen the action and if we've seen the result and now we see another result there must be yes there must be his will his plan again now he shall prolong his days Yahweh God the Father shall prolong his servants days how's that going to happen unless he comes back to life again just like Yahweh put his servant to grief now we see Yahweh prolonging his servants days giving him endless days oh that's wonderful isn't it not only is there that result in this action but now we go back to the plan to the will to the working of Yahweh at the end of that verse we see the will of the Lord the will of this covenant keeping God shall prosper in his hand Isaiah was telling us this all starts and all finishes in God's counsels it is his plan what is his plan in the middle you see that yes there is a death there is a cross there is suffering but there's also life there's also resurrection there's also glory isn't it clear just from the structure of the way that this was written by the influence of the Holy Spirit yes suffering and glory it wasn't just MacArthur it wasn't just the Apostles Creed this stuff is founded and based in the Word of God why did Christ suffer and I our verse tells us Christ suffered and died to please his heavenly father it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief but this is in just the Old Testament prophet that says that Christ suffered and died to please the heavenly father this is what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 2 you remember it well where Paul writes Christ loved us Christ loved the ones that the father gave to him the one that he was going to redeem Christ loved us and gave himself up for us isn't that wonderful and that was a fragrant offering a guilt offering remember that or maybe some of your translations talk about this being not just a fragrant offering a sacrifice to God but this was an aroma something that was well pleasing in the nostrils of God yes Christ suffered and died he was put to grief but that was for us and this was well pleasing to God yes still in Isaiah chapter 53 let's not look at verse 10 let's look at verse 5 this would give us another reason why Christ suffered and died in Isaiah 53 verse 5 Christ suffered and died to heal us from moral sickness and physical sickness you see it there in verse 5 he was wounded for our transgressions wounded suffering why was he wounded why was he crushed why was he pierced he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities these two phrases right here should be seen as parallels intensifiers it's saying the same thing but with different words to make sure that the reader the listener gets the point the servant of Yahweh was pierced he was pierced for not himself but for the people the people's transgressions the servant didn't have any transgressions he was crushed that word crushed we've already seen in verse 10 earlier it was the father that was crushing the servant it was Yahweh crushing Christ and he was crushed not for his own iniquities but for our iniquities the iniquities of God's people just getting the point over now if we didn't get that the verse goes on it says upon him upon the servant was the chastisement that brought us peace more suffering was placed upon him but it accomplished something what did it accomplish peace peace with God of course you know that fallen man is at enmity with God they're at hostility and the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ himself breaks down that hostility he brings us nigh to him what's another way that you could say all of that that he was chastised and brought peace Isaiah goes on he says he was wounded parmian his wounds we are healed okay so all that chastisement is the same thing as his wounds all of that peace that was brought to us is our healing no doubt this is seen in physical healing but more importantly it is spiritual healing eternal healing was not Jesus ministry just filled with healing maybe you remember Matthew chapter 8 verses 16 and 17 where the gospel writer records that evening they brought to him they brought to Jesus many who were oppressed by demons when you look at the supernatural world these people were afflicted by them and Jesus cast out spirits with a word and maybe you're like well maybe Jesus just has maybe Jesus just has the ability to deal with those things that are spiritual no no no he has the power not just over the supernatural but also the natural world because the verse goes on and says and Jesus healed all who were sick the natural world those that are sick the supernatural world those that are afflicted by demons and this was to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah spoke he took our illness and he bore our diseases friends all of us are born of Adam and have fallen in him and we are sin sick with sin we are full of transgressions we have gone across his laws we are full of iniquity and before God we are terminally ill but Jesus was pierced he was crushed for our transgressions for our iniquity all of that chastisement that he bore would bring us peace to God so that we could be well and we would be healed by his wounds physical oh sure more importantly spiritual so we might be brought nice to God well that means then that it has to be more than just physical healing because you know man born of woman is a few days and full of misery and then we die isn't that what Genesis 5 tells us this person lives so long begat somebody and then he died and he died and he died which just fulfills what we saw in Genesis in the day in the day that you eat of that fruit you shall surely die sin brings death all of us will experience death some of us sooner than others so if we are healed in a moment in a day in a month what good is that healing if you're ultimately going to die unless there's life after death well that's why John the Revelator was so ecstatic when he declared that there was going to be a new heaven a new earth where God would have his people and those people would have their God and he says in that new heavens in that new earth he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more isn't the end result of sickness death it's not that he just stomps out a little bit of sickness he takes and eradicates it death shall be no more neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore the former things have passed away there will be newness of life fullness of life there will be resurrection life J.I. Packer helps us by saying about the resurrection it is not strange that he the author of life should rise from the dead if he was truly God the Sun it is much more startling that he should die than he should rise again mmm well you guys know that there was a crucifixion there was suffering and there was an empty tomb what happened to that body there are four possibilities his enemies could have stolen the body his disciples could have done the same it could have been that he was unconscious and swooned or somehow fainted and when they put him in the tomb then he wasn't really dead after all or it could have been that God raised him from the dead his foes stole the body if we took that possibility then they even though they never claimed to do so they surely would have produced the body to stop the successful spread of Christianity in every city where the crucifixion occurred but they couldn't produce the body they didn't produce the body because the body was no longer dead now what about the friends stole the body the disciples well this was an early rumor and and is it possible that that could happen well could the disciples have overcome the guards at the tomb more importantly could they have begun to preach with such authority that Jesus was raised knowing that he actually was not raised from the dead would they have risked their lives accepted beatings and sometimes even death or being thrown in prison killed if they knew all this was a fraud I doubt it was it that Jesus wasn't dead but he was unconscious that he was swooned that is to say that he woke in that that tomb and he removed the stone he overcame soldiers and then he vanished from history after a few meetings with his disciples in which he convinced them that he was risen from the dead well I doubt that's the case even though his foes the foes of Jesus did not try this line he was obviously dead the Romans saw to it they crucified him the stone couldn't be moved by one man one who was stabbed in his side and spent six hours nailed to the cross one lady wrote J Vernon McGee a letter and she wrote our preacher said that on Easter Jesus was just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed him back to health what do you think Dr. McGee replied dear sister beat your preacher with a leather whip nail him to a cross hang him in the Sun for six hours run a spear through his side and bomb him put him in an airless tomb for three days then see what happens well there's a fourth possibility and that is that God raised Jesus from the dead this is what he said would happen and this is what the disciples said did happen but as long as there's a remote possibility of an explanation of a resurrection naturalistically modern people say that this isn't reasonable they don't want us to jump to some supernatural explanation but is this reasonable no of course not we don't want to be gullible but neither do we want to reject the truth just because it's strange you remember what Packer said it is not strange that Jesus the author of life should rise from the dead if he was truly God the Sun it is much more startling that he should die than he should rise again he did rise again let me give you ten reasons why he rose from the dead why you should believe in the resurrection number one his death was a public execution that assured his demise high officials secured his grave site in spite of guards the grave was found empty many people claimed to have seen him alive again his apostles were dramatically changed witnesses were willing to die for their claims Jewish believers changed their day of worship although it was unexpected it was clearly predicted it was a fitting climax to a miraculous life it befits the experience of those who trust in him this is why we should believe that Christ rose from the dead why did Christ suffer and die he suffered and died to secure our resurrection from the dead Paul said for if we have been united with him in a death like his we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his later on Paul goes on to say that if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 11 Paul seems to quote a creed that was already in the early church by saying this is trustworthy if we have died with him we will also live with him well that truth permeated from that early church to the Apostles Creed where it says Christ yes he was crucified he died he was buried but the third day he rose again from the dead and those who believe in him will have a resurrection of the body praise God there's a resurrection of the body let's pray Oh Lord we do thank you for this marvelous truth this wonderful truth that is found in your scripture yes there is a cross the cross of Christ there is a death and a resurrection a glory suffering in glory that is found in our Savior and there is glory for all of us who would believe in him we thank you for this we ask Lord that you would use this to encourage your people and for those that are outside of Christ break through their hard hearts so that they might trust in the infinite glory of Christ and his atoning work that brings new life when they're spiritually dead we ask this in Christ's name amen[ Silence ]