Easter Sunday: The Impact Of Christ’s Resurrection On Us Today

I believe Peter meant what he said. The problem with Peter was, he did not know his own weakness. He thought he could handle anything that came down the pike and he was willing to risk his reputation.

At the cross, Peter was totally devastated. He had failed in a way that he never dreamed he would ever fail Jesus. Now what was left? His only choice was to go back to his life before Jesus.

Peter represents those people who don’t believe they could ever fail the Lord. They are quite confident that they have what it takes to live the Christian life and to believe in the Lord.

What Peter did not understand was that believing in the Lord has to be built on a foundation that can never be compromised. The resurrection of Jesus was that uncompromised foundation that Peter found and the best time of Peter’s life was ahead of him.

3. John.

To me the most intriguing character here is John. He is a teenager and does not have much of a past. The last three years of his life, he spent with Jesus.

In writing the gospel of John, he always refers to himself as “the other disciple.” “Whom Jesus loved.”

John represents innocence that can be dangerous if you believe the wrong person. It is easy to trust the wrong people if you do not know the difference. John was completely naïve.

John gives us his testimony in John 20:8-9 – “8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.”

John was the first one to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What he comprehended at that time is not for us to know now.

These three represent the context in which we find our belief. The context of my belief is the basis upon which I define my confidence.

II. The Next Area of Impact Would Be Confidence

My confidence in the Lord has to be something that will withstand the opposition of the world around me. Confidence is based upon a relationship.

The thing that brought Mary Magdalene, Peter and John to the empty tomb was a relationship with Jesus. At this point, that relationship is rather superficial. It is a beginning, but they are not quite there yet.

Confidence is something that must be built and nurtured or it will disappear.

This is exactly where the resurrection of Jesus Christ comes to play. We cannot have confidence in a historical figure. We cannot have confidence in someone who is dead.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he made it possible for this intimate relationship so crucial for confidence.

Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, before the resurrection, only had a superficial relationship with Jesus.

Remember Thomas?

John 20:24-29 – “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

After his encounter with the resurrected Lord, Jesus made this statement. “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”