He's Alive Series

I don’t have any Easter jokes for you today, but I did come across some Easter quotes that I think you’ll regret hearing. Al Jamal said: “My father was so cheap. Every Easter we’d wear the same clothes, but he’d take us to a different church.”

Melanie White said these two things about Easter: “When you’re grown up you realize it’s not the number of Easter eggs you find that’s important, but how many are dark chocolate.” And, “Easter is a time for dressing up, looking your best, and hunting for candy. It’s Halloween in reverse.”

William Adler said: “Here’s hoping my Easter guests will help me take down the tree.”

Turn to Revelation 1. I know it’s not a typical Easter passage, but the message is most definitely an Easter message, but I’m not going to read this passage until later. Most of us here know the story of Easter, and I can tell you the story, but I think I should read it to you from Matthew 28. Listen as I read the familiar story from the HCSB.

The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord’s angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

5 The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. 6 He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body laid. 7 Now hurry! Tell his disciples that he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. That is what I came to tell you.”

8 The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

11 While the women were on their way, some soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 So the chief priests met with the leaders and decided to bribe the soldiers with a lot of money. 13 They said to the soldiers, “Tell everyone that Jesus' disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep. 14 If the governor hears about this, we will talk to him. You won’t have anything to worry about.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did what they were told. The Jewish people still tell each other this story.

I read an article in ChurchLeader.com by Mary Briggs titled, “Did Jesus Actually Rise from the Dead? Majority of UK Christians not Sure.” I realized that more and more people are wondering if you have to believe in the resurrection to be a Christian. That sounds like my students who ask, “What is the minimum I can do to still get an A?” Then during the last quarter of their senior year, they usually ask, “What’s the minimum I can do to pass so I can graduate?”

We live in a time when people want to know what is the minimum is that they can do to be a Christian. Or, What’s the minimum I must believe in order to be a Christian? The articles said that a poll was taken in the United Kingdom by those who consider themselves to be Christian, and a majority are not convinced Jesus physically died and rose from the dead. Fewer than half think Jesus actually died and rose again for the forgiveness of their sins. Get this, only 26% of the general population believes Jesus actually died and rose again.

Anglican priest Dave Tomlinson told the BBC, “The reason a lot of people don’t believe in a physical death and resurrection of Jesus is that it just doesn’t make sense. For Jesus to have to die a cruel death to bring humanity back to God makes God a weird monster.”

Another Anglican priest said that there’s a difference between belief and faith. Believing Jesus died and rose again is not necessary for one to have faith in Jesus. To have faith in Jesus, means to have a faith encounter with Jesus. Death and resurrection are unnecessary.

I’m afraid that’s the direction we are heading down. In our world of no absolute truths, in our world with a deconstruction of the past to show things of the past are irrelevant to our daily culture, and in our world where the quote “What’s the minimum?” is dominate, it should not surprise us that people either don’t believe in the resurrection as fact or they don’t believe in the resurrection as necessary.