beloved radio friends once again we greet you and we welcome you in the precious name of the Lord Jesus to the study of the word of God as we continue our consideration about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God we raise the question constantly what think ye of Christ or how the desire of the heart is that God by the Holy Spirit will give to you, my radio friend, as well as to me, more concern to think, to dwell, to meditate, to enjoy thinking of the great person of the Son of God himself. God grant our thoughts will be concerning Christ more and more as the days go by. And to you who may not be saved, do you ever think of Christ? He came to be your Savior. and he has done the work to save you. But if you meet him in eternity, not having him as your Savior, you'll meet him as your judge. God grant by the Spirit you will begin, if never you have. Give some thought concerning the person of Christ, the Son of God. We continue our theme of the week concerning the greatness of his resurrection. We have pointed out the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians chapter fifteen, in the first opening verses of the chapter in particular, brings out facts regarding the resurrection of Christ, proving it must be a basic fundamental teaching of Christianity, or our preaching would be in vain, the faith of the Christian would be in vain, and we would be of all men, most miserable if we had no hope through the resurrection of our blessed Savior. Now we would like to consider something very practical, the proof that it was a bodily resurrection of our blessed Savior, the Son of God. Many of you may remember and know the details of the historical record that when they took him from the cross, Joseph of Arimathea, together with Nicodemus, they placed him in that tomb, his body verily dead. But was it an actual resurrection from the dead? For may I state, there are many who give false statements, claiming that Jesus did not actually die. Now this must be refuted. There are others also that reject the claim that it was a resurrected body. which the Savior possessed following that day of resurrection. Was it an actual resurrection from the dead? Now, first of all, we must prove that he actually died. When you look at the Gospel of Mark chapter fifteen and verse forty-five, you have the evidence that the soldiers at the crucifixion witnessed to the fact that he was already dead. You can go to John chapter nineteen and verse thirty-three, and you that recall the crucifixion record by John the Apostle, will remember that when the Lord Jesus died and cried it is finished, the veil in the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom, and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. And such was the phenomenal conditions that prevailed at his death. That Roman hard Roman centurion smote his breath and said, Surely this was a righteous man. This was the son of God. But do you also recall? Joseph of Arimathea begged for the body of Jesus from Pilate. Pilate sent word that the centurion might tell, Was he dead? And thus the confirmation of his bodily death. was given by the centurion before Pilate permitted the body of Jesus to be taken from the cross. Then when you read in Mark chapter sixteen in verse one, you read of those godly women that had attended the ministry of the Lord Jesus in the days of his flesh. They're coming to bring their spices and their anointments for the body of Jesus. And they expected, of course, to anoint A living body? No, a dead body. So it's the custom and the practice to place spices and ointment, to keep the smell of putrefaction and corruption when the body began to decay as long as possible away. And then may I also remind you of what John writes in chapter nineteen in verse thirty-five and thirty-four and thirty-five together. John is the only one who gives the record of this scene, that when the Lord Jesus died, you recall that the rude Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear, and out came both blood and water from his open side as a proof of his death. You have John the Apostle confirming the same fact? when he writes in his first epistle chapter five that one of the witnesses of his death that even the father above confirms was that out of his wounded side flowed both blood and water out with evidences of literal bodily death but then may I point out to you some words by the Lord Jesus spoken written by John the Apostle in the book of the Revelation. Chapter one, you may recall, and you that have read that chapter will recall, how the beloved Apostle John sees the vision of the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man, walking in the midst of the candlesticks on the lampstands of the churches in their testimony. But as John describes that great glorious person in the words that he is so written by spirit inspiration, Do you recall that John fell at his feet when he saw the Savior in such glory and greatness in the vision? He fell at his feet as dead. Then Jesus came and touched him and said, Fear not, I am he that liveth and was dead. I am he that liveth and was dead. The Lord Jesus Christ personally testified to John. Yes, I was the living one on the earth, but I became dead. Yes, the Blessed Lord Jesus confirms the fact. He himself confirms the fact I was dead. The centurion, the soldiers in Pilate and others in John, the historian, all confirmed the fact he died. Therefore, It must have been a bodily resurrection. And this fact will reject the claims of Son, who try to explain his death and resurrection as being only a physical and a spiritual experience rather than a literal one. My beloved, the death and the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus could be called but one event, simultaneous events. For there are many false cults today. who explain away the resurrection of Jesus. I could name two, and even more. Some claim that the disappearance of Christ's body may have dissolved into the gases of the universe around us, and perhaps even miraculously preserved some place. But what is the truth? My beloved, let me say faithfully, quickly. Luke chapter twenty four. verse thirty nine and forty you have the Lord Jesus on that resurrection evening coming into the presence of his disciples who were gathered together in the upper room and they thought he was the spirit but he said to them as they were in fear a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have and he gave the evidence that he was a literal bodily person by asking them to give him something to eat, which he did eat before them. Jesus himself declares his body was a body of flesh and bones after his resurrection. Matthew declares, if you may read in Matthew chapter twenty eight and verse nine, Matthew declares that the women going to the sepulchre met Christ on that resurrection day and they held him by the feet. They actually grasped his literal feet, according to Matthew's account. Shall we not think of the words of David the psalmist, prophesying in chapter sixteen of verse ten of that psalm's wonderful truth, where David the psalmist prophesied that Christ's flesh should not see corruption? And thus was the promise that he would not see corruption. Neither would his soul be left in Hades. And Peter quotes that. When you come to chapter two in the book of the Acts, Peter tells them he rose from the dead. And he quotes David. He says, now David prophesied it. And he said, David did not prophesy about himself. He said, we've got the bones of David in the sepulchre at Jerusalem yet today. And David was prophesying of Christ, of whom it was written, he should not see death, but that he should be raised again from the dead. And what shall we say when we read, whether in Mark and particularly in the Gospel of John chapter twenty, when the disciples came to visit the tomb, which Mary made the lean, came and gave them the message, his body was gone. When they came to the tomb, the grave clothes were in order. When the disciples examined the inside of that tomb, it was empty. May I point out something very precious? I hope you'll stay with me and listen to it. When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, he had wrapped around his head a napkin, the customary thing, As it was when Lazarus was raised from the dead, they had a napkin around his head, which Jesus told to unloose, as well as unwind the grave clothes. And the Lord Jesus, when he rose from the dead, his body came out of those grave clothes, right through them. But he took the napkin from his head, and he laid it in a place by itself, separate from the grave clothes. Why did the Lord Jesus do that? My beloved, it was the evidence that he himself, personally, took the napkin from off his head, folded it up, laid it in another place from where the grave clothes were lying. Another evidence of his bodily resurrection. Oh, beloved. There have been others raised from the dead in the old as well as in the New Testament, but every one of them died again. But not so the Lord Jesus. The bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Listen. What do you think about it, friend? Do you believe it? God grant you do. Father, bless thy word, and we thank thee for our risen Savior in his precious name. Amen.