We need some help sometimes, don’t we?
When I first learned to use our text messaging service at church, I didn’t know what I was doing; I needed a helper.
When I rebuilt my first car, a 1965 Ford Falcon, I didn’t know what I was doing; I needed a helper.
When I was entered into ministry, I didn’t know how to lead in a church; I needed a helper.
Once, on a mission trip, when I crossed the Mekong River from Thailand into Laos; I needed a helper.
Kids, you need help from your parents sometimes, don’t you?
Teenagers, your parents need help from you sometimes, don’t they?
Sometimes we need help. There are just certain things that are difficult to do by ourselves, or may be downright impossible to do without a helper.
Well, today, we’re going to learn about the resurrection helper. That’s the title of today’s Easter sermon: “The Resurrection Helper.”
Speaking of help, we need help from God right now as we study His Word.
So, let’s go to Him in prayer and ask Him to help us.
(prayer)
For those of you who may not be regular with us, I usually preach verse by verse through a book of the Bible, but today is different.
Also, I often have three points in a sermon, but today, I only have two! It’s a very simple sermon, so let’s go to it.
Let’s see first of all that . . .
I. Resurrections need a helper.
Here’s what I mean by that: In the Bible, when we witness a resurrection, from whom does the power come? (From God).
In the Bible, God is the one who has the power to bring a resurrection.
Yet, with nearly every resurrection in the Bible, there is a helper.
Let me give you some examples:
First, consider the story of Elijah and the healing of a widow’s son in 1 Kings 17.
We learn this in verses 19-22:
But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!”
So the LORD listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.
Who was the one who had the power to resurrect this boy? I’m going to help you on this first one: It was God; God has the power to bring new life.
Who was the helper whom God used to bring the boy new life? Elijah.
Second, consider Elisha and the Shunammite woman’s son in 2 Kings 4:32–37:
When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed. So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay on the boy: he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy’s flesh became warm. Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” He called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” She came, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; she picked up her son and left.
Ok, another boy is raised from the dead.
Who was the one who had the power to raise the boy to new life? (God)
Who was the resurrection helper? (Elisha)
Third, consider the man who encountered Elisha’s bones in 2 Kings 13:20–21:
Then Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to come into the land in the spring of the year. Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a raiding party, so they threw the man into Elisha’s tomb. When he touched Elisha’s bones, the man revived and stood up!
Ok, this man came back to life in a crazy way, right‽
Who had the power to resurrect this man? (God)
And, even though he was already dead, who was the resurrection helper? (Elisha)
Fourth, let’s jump to the New Testament. Consider Jesus healing a dead man in Luke 7:14–16:
Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Then fear came over everyone, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.”
Who had the power to bring life to this dead man? (God) Who was the resurrection helper? (Jesus)
Fifth, consider the story of Jesus and the daughter of the synagogue leader in Mark 5:38–42:
They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.
Who had the power to give this girl new life? (God)
Who was the resurrection helper? (Jesus)
Sixth, consider the famous story of Lazarus in John 11:41–44:
So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”
Who had the power to resurrect Lazarus? (God)
Who was the resurrection helper? (Jesus)
Seventh, let’s go to the time of the apostles. Consider Peter and the story of Tabitha in Acts 9:40–42:
Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”
Who was the one with the power to bring new life to Tabitha? (God)
Who was the resurrection helper? (Peter)
Eight, consider when Paul brought healing to the boy who fell out of a window. We read this in Acts 20:9–12:
. . . and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, bent over him, embraced him, and said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.” After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left. They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.
Who really had the power to heal this boy? (God)
Who was the resurrection helper? (Paul)
You see, folks: God has the power to bring life and He does so through a resurrection helper. This is His pattern all throughout the Bible. Resurrections need a helper.
Second, we learn that . . .
II. We need a helper.
We need help, right?
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.”
Our way leads to death; we need help.
Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment . . . ”
Our ways are not righteous enough; we need help.
We need help. We are unable to help ourselves. We are unable to stand before God because of our sin. We need a helper.
I mentioned all those resurrection stories in the Bible. The power came from God; the help came from someone else.
Hey! There’s another famous resurrection in the Bible (perhaps the most famous), which I have not yet mentioned, right?
Of course, I have not yet mentioned the resurrection of Jesus.
Matthew tells of this beautiful moment in Matthew 28:1–6:
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said.”
From whom did the power come for the resurrection of Jesus? Of course, it came from God.
Who was the resurrection helper for the resurrection of Jesus? No one.
Now, that’s remarkable. Jesus doesn’t need a resurrection helper, does He?
Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”
Teenagers, what if you asked your parents for driving lessons, and they replied, “I am driving”?
Kids, what if you asked your parents to help you with your schoolwork, and they replied, “I am school work”? Adults, what if you asked your neighbor to help you with a downed tree in your yard, and they replied, “I am landscaping”?
Those responses would be strange wouldn’t they?
However, with Jesus, it’s not strange, because he really does have power over death.
Jesus doesn’t need help! He is the resurrection and the life!
Jesus doesn’t need a resurrection helper because He is the Resurrection Helper!
That is our bottom line for today:
Bottom Line: Jesus is the Resurrection Helper.
Here’s the reality: We need a helper. We’ve had some craziness in our world, haven’t we? We’ve had some craziness in our country, haven’t we? We’ve had some craziness in our state, haven’t we? We’ve had some craziness in our city, haven’t we?
We’ve made a mess of ourselves, we’ve made a mess of our world, we’ve made a mess of our government, we’ve made a mess of our healthcare, we’ve made a mess of our communities, we’ve made a mess of our families, we’ve made a mess of our churches, we’ve made a mess of our schools, we’ve made a mess of our environment, we’ve made a mess of our relationships, we’ve made a mess of everything. We need a helper!
Here’s the good news: Jesus is the greatest helper in all the world! He can make all things new and better.
We need His help. We need to be made new ourselves, and we need everything around us to be made new.
Take this one challenge this week:
Weekly Challenge: Look for help in Jesus.
Are you having trouble in this world? Jesus said in John 16:33 “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Are you lost in your sin? Do you need help from the greatest helper in all the world? Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Look for help in Jesus.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
