Children of the Resurrection
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Exploring the centrality of the Resurrection to the transformation of the germinal church.
Text: Luke 23:54-56
Date: 03/08/2026, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 225
Description:
As we complete Luke's Crucifixion narrative, our focus will turn to the women from Galilee who followed Jesus to the tomb and prepared to anoint His body after the Sabbath rest. After making our way through this short text, we will consider the spiritual state of the various groups of people who will soon make up the backbone of the church of Jesus Christ. What we will find is shocking-- not a single person that we know of, including the apostles-to-be, were trusting in the promises that Jesus had made of His Resurrection. The "church" that would change the world was united in a single attribute-- unbelief. What changed? What turned this group of confused, disillusioned and heartbroken misfits into the most powerful force for good the world has ever known? In a word-- it was the Resurrection. We will analyze this often-underemphasized pillar of our faith and realize that then as now, and until our Lord returns, we are the Children of the Resurrection.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 23:54-56.
A. Context, Luke 8:1-3, 23:49, 24:10.
B. The women and the tomb.
1. Setting the scene, vs. 54.
a. The "day of Preparation".
i. Defining the "day of Preparation", Ex. 16:5.
ii. A fading practice.
b. The "dawn" of the Sabbath.
2. Following to the tomb, vs. 55.
a. Visualizing the scene, Luke 23:49; Matt. 27:61.
b. "Scrutinizing" the tomb, 1John 1:1; Acts 1:11; Mark 15:47.
c. Dispelling a silly skeptical objection.
3. Preparing for Easter, vs. 56a.
4. The Sabbath's Rest, vs. 56b, Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:8-10.
C. Recognizing the state of the "church-to-be".
1. Revisiting the people in Luke's narrative.
a. Looking at the other groups.
i. The "apostles-to-be".
ii. The "acquaintances".
iii. The other disciples.
iv. The crowd (everyone else), John 5.
b. Summarizing the state of the "church-to-be".
2. Remembering the promises.
a. Promises from the Old Testament, Isa. 25:8, 26:19; Psa. 16:9-10; Job 19:25-26; Hos. 13:14.
b. Promises from Jesus Himself, John 2:19-22, 16:16,22; Matt. 12:39-40, 16:21, 17:22-23, 26:31-32, 27:63; Luke 9:22, 18:31-33; Mark 9:9-10, 14:57-58.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion, 1Cor. 1:22-23.
