The Significance of Easter
(topical)
Note: The illustrations in this sermon come from Sermon Central, as noted below.
1. Because Easter is such an important day, our elders met and decided, "You know, we want to get a really special speaker. Why don’t we call the best preacher in the state and ask him to speak."
And they did and he said "No".
So they said, "Well, if we can’t have the best speaker, at least we can get the smartest one."
So they called him and he said "No".
And then they said, "Well, if we can’t get the best or the smartest, at least we can get the best-looking."
And they called him and he said "No".
And finally one of them said, "Well, we can always ask our preacher." And so they did.
And what could I say, I’d already told them "no" three times? (palms up shrug)
[source: Ken Kersten, Sermon Central, altered]
2. Easter Sunday is a special celebration, for the Resurrection of Christ confirmed that our sin debt had been paid on the cross. Christ died as a sacrifice for our sin, an innocent victim; He rose as the conqueror, the Victor.
Main Idea: As we contemplate the resurrection, we need to pause and reflect about what happened and what it all means to us.
I. What Happened: The Events of RESURRECTION Sunday
A. The Gospels Offer PARTIAL Information
B. Putting them together gives us a HARMONIZATION
1. Christ rises from the dead very early Sunday morning. A violent earthquake and an angel rolling away the stone and sitting upon it accompany this event. The guards are traumatized because they have seen this angel, and they freeze (Matthew 28:2-4).
2. Mary Magdalene and another Mary either walk to the tomb together or they had planned to meet there. When she (or they) arrives, the stone has been rolled away. (The guards are gone by now.) She returns to find Peter and John and tells them that someone has moved Jesus’ body (John 20:1-2; Matthew 28:1).
3. Another group of women were scheduled to meet the two Marys at the tomb. They have acquired spices to complete the burial process, which had been hurried. They are concerned about finding some men to help roll the stone away, since it was large and needed to be rolled against gravity. To their surprise, these women see two angels, only one of which speaks, telling them that Jesus has been raised. The women are scared to death and leave [seeing angels has this effect] (Mark 16:2-8; Luke 24:1-8, Matthew 28:5-8).
4. Peter and John arrive after being summoned by Mary Magdalene, who also follows them back. John looks into the tomb, but Peter goes inside. All he finds are the burial clothes. They return, confused, but Mary Magdalene stays at the tomb to grieve because she believes someone has removed Jesus’ body (Luke 24:12, John 20:3-10).
5. Jesus makes His first appearance to Mary Magdalene, after Peter and John have left. At first she supposes Him to be the gardener, but she is then overjoyed to realize that it is the Lord (John 20:11-17, Mark 16:9).
6. Jesus then appears to these other women who had left before Peter and John had arrived. These are the women who saw the angels. Jesus tells them to communicate that the disciples were to prepare to travel to Galilee (Matthew 28:9-10).
7. The women, joined by Mary Magdalene, report their meeting with Jesus to the disciples, but they write it off as nonsense (Mark 16:10-11, Luke 24:9-11, John 20:18).
8. The Roman guards report what they had witnessed to the chief priests. They were bribed to say that someone stole the body of Jesus while they were asleep. The priests promised the soldiers protection from military discipline through their clout (Matthew 28:11-15).
9. Jesus appears to Cleopas and his friend (Luke 24: 13-22, Mark 16:12-13). This is on the afternoon of that first Easter Sunday as these two disciples were traveling toward Emmaus.
10. These two disciples make a report to the eleven apostles that evening (Mark 16:13, Luke 24:33-35).
11. Jesus appeared to the ten apostles, (Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-25) either while Cleopas and his friend were still there or afterward. The eleven apostles are discussing this claim during the evening of that same Easter day. They had the doors locked, fearful that the Jews might plot against them and arrest them. They presume He is a ghost. He encourages them to look at His hands, feet, and side. He insists that they touch them. But this still does not convince the apostles that He is really risen. He eats with them, and the reality of the resurrection registers with them. They are overjoyed. Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon them.
12. A week later, on a Sunday, Jesus appears to the disciples with Thomas present. Doubting Thomas becomes convinced (John 20:26-29).
13. About two weeks later, Jesus appears to the disciples while fishing and eats with them. Jesus gives Peter a chance to “undo” his three denials by three affirmations of his love for Jesus (John 21).
14. There are several other appearances of Jesus mentioned in Scripture, including His appearance to a large crowd of over 500 (1 Corinthians 15:6). He appeared individually to His brother James (1 Corinthians 15:5) and Peter. He appeared to Paul after the ascension (1 Corinthians 15:8). He also appeared to present the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and then during His ascension from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:6-11). As a matter of fact, Acts 1:3 summarizes as follows: “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.”
II. What Does The Resurrection Tell Us?
A. We have a God Who CARES and interferes
1. Many of America’s founders were believing Christians.
2. But some were "Deists." God created everything and left. They thought that if God worked a miracle, that would be an admission that He did less than perfect work. The reason they came to such a conclusion was that they denied the Fall.
3. But God has not left. He intervenes in human history to accomplish His purposes. We may wish He intervened more, but, when we get to heaven, we might find out that He intervenes plenty -- just not in ways that we can recognize. He does not intervene to create a utopia for us, but to accomplish His purposes.
4. But even though He offers no utopia on earth, He cares about our tiniest and greatest needs and burdens. Jesus even told us the number of hairs on our heads is numbered.
B. Hope of eternal LIFE
1. John 14:19, " Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live."
2. If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, this has to be the greatest fact of history. If He did not do so, this is the greatest hoax. Hundreds of thousands of Christians have died for their faith over the years, risking life and eternity confident that Jesus Christ is the risen Savior.
C. A source of JOY
It was 17 years ago, on Feb. 27, 1991, at the height of Desert Storm, that Ruth Dillow received a very sad message from the Pentagon. It stated that her son, Clayton Carpenter, Private 1st Class, had stepped on a mine in Kuwait and was dead.
Ruth Dillow later wrote, "I can’t begin to describe my grief and shock. It was almost more than I could bear. For three days I wept. For three days I expressed anger and loss. For three days people tried to comfort me, to no avail because the loss was too great."
But three days after she received that message, the telephone rang. The voice on the other end said, "Mom, it’s me. I’m alive." Ruth Dillow said, "I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I recognized his voice, and he really was alive." The message was all a mistake!
She said, "I laughed, I cried, I felt like turning cartwheels, because my son whom I had thought was dead, was really alive. I’m sure none of you can even begin to understand how I felt." [source: Sermon Central]
We have a living Savior Who is in the world today.
D. A Savior Who can be COMPLETELY trusted
1. Romans 1:4, " and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."
2. The resurrection asserts His authority
E. MEANING in life: An investment in eternity
In a park in California there is a rock hanging on a rope with a large sign next to it. It reads, “Weather Station report: Check the rock. If it’s wet, it’s raining; if the rock is swinging, it’s windy; if it’s dry, it’s not raining; if you cannot see the rock, it’s foggy; if the rock has been blown away, it’s a tornado."
This humorous illustration has a profound statement in it, and I want to draw your attention to it this Easter morning: "Check the Rock." [source: Sermon Central]
• Life is moving faster than it ever has before, What tomorrow brings us is uncertain anymore…
• Jesus Christ wants to be active in our lives today, but our faith is not just about this life, it is about an eternal perspective
• Our life on earth is an investment in eternity…
• Salvation is by grace through faith alone, not works; but additional rewards in heaven are earned by works; but more than that, living lives of service to God is natural for the true believer because he or she finds fulfillment by fulfilling his or her purpose, glorigying God.
F. A personal RELATIONSHIP with God
We can know about someone, yet not really know them.
Mel Gibson
George W. Bush
Tiger Woods
Hillary Clinton
Steven Kellett said,
"These are people that we know something about, but do any of us really know them? You can know Jesus Christ. You can know his love, his care, his healing, and his forgiveness. He says; “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." "At the end of their journey was an empty tomb – the promise of their eternal life."
[Source: Steven Kellett, Sermon Central]
