On the first day of the week,
very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went
to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they
entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were
wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning
stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the
ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the
dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was
still with you in Galilee: ‘The
Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on
the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.
(From a message I preached on April 8, 2007)
The central message of the observance we call "Easter" is that Jesus rose from the dead three days after he was crucified. Many people have no problem believing that Jesus was a good man, even a great prophet and teacher. And many of these same people don't have a problem accepting the fact that Jesus was betrayed and sentenced to die a violent death. But when His resurrection is mentioned, they feel that part of the story should be relegated to the land of myths and fairy tales. Some even jokingly refer to Christianity as a religion that worships a zombie.
However, without the resurrection, everything else doesn't really matter. His life, his teachings, the miracles, even His death and burial, are truly meaningless without the final act of resurrection. Here is why I believe the resurrection is so important.
Jesus, the
Firstfruits
The death of Jesus wasn’t enough. His death paid the penalty for sin as prescribed in the Mosaic law. Sin had to be atoned for with blood. Since sin separated humanity from fellowship with God, the death of Christ made it possible for us to have fellowship with
God the Father. It also set an example that suffering is a part of
our faith walk. Jesus told His disciples (and us) that we would have to carry our crosses if we want to follow Him.
But it wasn’t enough. We would probably be satisfied, knowing that we are forgiven for our sins, having true fellowship with God, and taking comfort in knowing that Jesus suffered just
like us. But God wasn’t satisfied. He didn’t want us just in the here and now, walking with us like He did with Adam and Eve in the garden. He wanted us for all eternity. So He wrote the rest of the story.
If Jesus had not risen from the dead, our hope and
faith would only have temporary significance. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:12-26:
But if it is preached that
Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no
resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection
of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been
raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are
then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God
that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the
dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been
raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are
still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If
only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all
men.
But Christ has
indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen
asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all
die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the
firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will
come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed
all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Jesus had to rise from the dead so that we too could
have the hope of eternal life. Paul calls Him the "firstfruits" - a term referring to the first harvest. In other words, He blazed the trail for the rest of us to follow.
Inexpressible
and Glorious Joy
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have the
promise that one day we too will be resurrected to a new life. This hope is described in 1 Peter 1:3-9:
Praise be to the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in
heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming
of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief
in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine
and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though
you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for
you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
If we did not have the hope of eternal life in
glory, we would be too easily tempted to give up when the going gets rough. In a sense, this hope is the "carrot on the stick" that keeps us on the path of fellowship with God.
The resurrection of Jesus shows us that there
is a new, improved life after the death to the old self, and that life isn't just while we walk on this earth.
No Fear of
Death
Because Jesus led the way into eternal life, we
don’t have to be afraid of death in this life. Paul wrote about this eternal promise in Romans
6:1-10:
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so
that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any
longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism
into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his
death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we
know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who
has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will
also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he
cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he
died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
If Jesus stayed in the tomb, we would have no reason
to believe in Him. He would have just been another great teacher or
prophet. Other religious leaders died and were buried, but
never resurrected. Only Jesus proved His divine nature and power by
overcoming death and the grave.
As Christians, we don’t have to be afraid of
physical death, because Jesus overcame it once and for all. While I don't particularly like the idea of dying (it's rarely a pleasant event), I don't fear death. For those of who believe, death is simply a momentarily uncomfortable passage into a new world where we will never have to experience pain, suffering and loss again.
The resurrection of Jesus was the rest of the story. Some people want us to believe that He didn’t really
die, he just passed out and was revived in the tomb. Others want us to believe that Jesus didn’t really
rise from the dead, that it was just a ghost. Scripture clearly proves both positions to be false. If we start picking at the threads of the death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus, the entire Gospel begins to unravel. The resurrection of Jesus is just as important as
the death and burial of Jesus, because it is the rest of the story.
Praise God for the promise of eternal life!
Have a Happy Easter, and a blessed week!
Pastor David
