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powers tried to kill Jesus,
but God raised him and exalted him to the highest place. The religious types
said he was possessed by a devil and tried to silence him, but God said, “He is
my beloved Son, listen to him” (see Matthew 17:5). The resurrection of Jesus
compels us to take sides. “You crucified him, but God raised him,” said Peter
at Pentecost. “Maybe you ought to rethink your views on Christ.” And on that
day 3,000 did. 
    Third, the
resurrection proves God’s grace is greater than your sin. On the cross, Jesus
bore our sin that we might bear his righteousness. If our sin had been too much
for him to carry, he would still be dead and you would still be a sinner.
     
    And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
futile; you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)
     
    But Christ has been
raised, proving that any claim sin had against you has been fully settled. The
gospel of the empty tomb declares your sins cannot condemn you. In Christ, you
have been pardoned for all time.
    Before he
died Jesus said, “The prince of this world has nothing on me” (see John 14:30).
Because Jesus rose, the prince of this world has nothing on you either. All the
claims and charges that were against you were taken away and nailed to the
cross (Colossians 2:13–14). Your rap sheet might have been as long as your arm
but it’s gone. This is good news for crooks and criminals and sinners like us.
In Christ, we have a complete amnesty and eternal redemption.
     
    He was delivered over to death for our sins and was
raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)
     
    If you battle with guilt and
condemnation, see the cross where Jesus carried your sins, and then see the
empty tomb, which proves the job is done. There is no sin he didn’t carry and
no sin he didn’t forgive. All your sins were dealt with once and for all at the
cross—the resurrection proves it.
    You may ask,
“But what about the sins I haven’t done yet? What about my future sins?” Don’t
you see? When Jesus died and rose again, you hadn’t been born yet. All your
sins were future sins.
    There is only
one cure for sin, and it’s the finished work of the cross. Jesus isn’t coming
to die for your sins a second time. Once was enough. This is the good news of
the empty tomb. Because of Jesus, your sins cannot condemn you. Yet you may
condemn yourself through unbelief. If you think you have to repent and confess
and be good before God will forgive you, you are saying, “Christ’s work remains
unfinished, the tomb is not empty, and I cannot be right with God unless I do
what Jesus couldn’t.”
    It is the
nature of the unbelieving mind to act as though the resurrection never
happened. But a proper response to grace is to say, “Thank you, Jesus.” It’s to
be like Peter, who saw the empty tomb and was changed. It’s to be like John,
who understood the good news of the folded napkin and believed.
     

What is the best thing Jesus ever did?
     
    The gospel is first and
foremost an announcement. It is a declaration of something that has happened.
But what are we declaring? And what happened? We need to remind ourselves from
time to time lest we get distracted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
     
    Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the
gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your
stand. (1 Corinthians 15:1)
     
    Here is Paul writing to the
church at Corinth. He’s fifteen chapters into his letter, he’s just finished
talking about corporate worship, and he has the following thought: I’d
better remind them about the gospel . That’s kind of strange, don’t you
think? It’s like being three hours into a deacon’s meeting and the pastor says,
“Now item fifteen on our agenda—remind everyone of the gospel.”
    Surely the
Corinthian Christians knew the gospel. “Doesn’t matter,” says Paul. “You need
to hear it again.” And so do we:
     
    For what I received I passed on