CANCEL EASTER? Matthew 27:61-28:15
(Revised in 2020, during the novel coronavirus, covid-19 church cancellations—can be easily modified)
In the eyes of many people, Easter has been canceled this year. Church is online only. Easter egg hunts and family dinners are canceled. Malls are closed, and new outfits are unnecessary anyway. Easter lilies will not fill the platform, and some will even forego chocolate bunnies and Peeps! No!
Can Easter be canceled? If we are talking about celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, this is not the first year that some have not celebrated the resurrection. For many, the resurrection of Jesus has been lost in a flurry of activity, the cuteness of children, and superficial wishes for a happy Easter. Even in churches, the busyness of multiple services and dropping Easter candy from drones has threatened to obscure the truth of the resurrection.
But not this year. This year, all of that is stripped away.
Cancel Easter?
On the very first Easter, the Jewish power players anxiously conspired to make sure any plans for Easter would be canceled.
Read Matthew 27:62-66.
It is surprising that the Jewish leaders remembered what Jesus had said about rising from the dead. His disciples had heard him say it more than once, but Luke tells us that the disciples did not understand what he meant. The Jewish leaders understood what he meant, but of course, they didn’t believe it.
The Jewish leaders wanted to make sure the disciples would not try to perpetuate a hoax, by stealing the body of Jesus, and then claiming he had risen from the dead. Pilate agreed to help them “cancel Easter,” by posting guards. Yet he said something strange: “Go, make the tomb AS SECURE AS YOU KNOW HOW.” Understand—the disciples had only one sword among them, the one Peter had in the Garden of Gethsemane. The disciples had all fled when Jesus was crucified, except for the women, and Joseph and Nicodemus, who had buried Jesus. Who did they think was going to overcome 2 or more armed guards? And why would the disciples try to steal the body? As Paul said much later in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” If Jesus was dead, the movement was dead.
In fact, there was no plot to steal Jesus’ body. After lying low on the Sabbath (Saturday), the men were hiding out somewhere. Only some women ventured out at dawn on Sunday—hardly a threat to the armed guard at the tomb.
Yet Pilate’s words became a prophecy: “Make the tomb as secure as you know how.” How secure was that?
Read Matthew 28:1-10.
The resurrection of Jesus went on as planned!
The guards felt an earthquake, and they saw an angel, bright like lightning in the dawn of the day. They were so afraid that they shook.
The women heard the angel say, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid? Of course they were afraid! Yet the angel challenged their fear, with news they could hardly imagine: “He is not here; he is risen!”
As the women hurried away, “afraid yet filled with joy,” Jesus met them. He too said to them, “Do not be afraid.”
Do you catch a theme here? “Do not be afraid.”
***Many are saying that these days, because of the pandemic and the uncertainty and fear it causes. Why should we not be afraid? Not because we don’t see the danger; we do. Not because we have everything under control; we don’t. We should not be afraid because Jesus is alive.**
Now if I had been there at the tomb, I think I would have been shaking—shaking with fear?...awe?…shock? In the words of the old spiritual, “Were You There,” “…sometimes it causes me to tremble…tremble…tremble.” The guards trembled at the shock and awe of the angels, but the women trembled as they heard Jesus say, “Do not be afraid.”
Our prayer on Easter is expressed by Paul in Ephesians 1:18-20, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead…” God’s power doesn’t make our fear disappear, but God is greater than anything we fear.
The Jewish power players were afraid—afraid that if people feared God more than them, they would lose out. They were still trying to cancel Easter.
Read Matthew 28:11-15.
The Jewish leaders did not want to DISCOVER the truth about what happened; they wanted to MANAGE the truth about the resurrection.
People do that, for truth they don’t want to face. Financial problems are managed, for a while, by credit card debt. Addiction in families might be managed by not talking about the problem. Sins are hidden, conflict avoided by the silent treatment, and depression masked by a smile.
***As the coronavirus pandemic emerged, politicians and world leaders attempted to MANAGE the truth about the virus and its victims. The full extent of the epidemic and death toll was not revealed, to protect economies, governments, and political leaders. Only when the truth could no longer be ignored did the leaders admit the full extent of the pandemic.**
The Jewish power players did not want to know the truth about whether Jesus rose from the dead; they only wanted to manage the situation. For if Jesus actually rose from the dead, it would threaten their way of life. They would no longer have ultimate religious authority, and they would lose status and support. The truth of the resurrection would threaten their way of life, and the entire Jewish establishment.
Even today, some people see the resurrection of Jesus as a threat, for if Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the authority on moral behavior. Jesus demands total commitment to his kingdom of righteousness and transformation. Jesus asks people to humble themselves, take up their cross of service, and submit to his authority.
If Jesus rose from the dead, anything is possible. Forgiveness is possible. Emotional as well as physical healing is possible. Relationships can be restored, unhealthy habits overcome, and sins defeated.
That is good news! But it is also a threat to a way of life that denies the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, claims authority over all things: our relationships, our habits, our favorite sins, and our pride.
The Jewish leaders recognized the threat, so they took steps to MANAGE the truth. The guards were paid handsomely to spread a story about the disciples stealing the body while they were asleep. (By the way, the stone in front of the tomb was heavy enough that the women knew they couldn’t move it. Moving the stone would have made some noise, and would probably have awakened the guards.)
The guards took the money and circulated the story—a story to CANCEL EASTER.
Yet Easter could not be canceled. Why? Because the resurrection really happened.
Mary and Mary Magdalene, expecting to find a dead body, saw and heard an angel. Then they saw Jesus, in his resurrected body. Mary Magdalene had a conversation with Jesus.
The women shared the news with the disciples. Peter and John, wanting to see for themselves, ran to the tomb, to find it empty. Peter believed, even though it made no sense to him.
Meanwhile, 2 lesser disciples were on the road the Emmaus, sad and disappointed. Jesus joined them on the road, and they did not recognize him until he sat with them and broke bread. They rushed back to Jerusalem, joining the disciples in time for Jesus to appear. He entered the room with the door still shut, and he spoke to them and ate some broiled fish.
Thomas, one of the 12, was not there with them, and he doubted their story. The following Sunday, Jesus again appeared, inviting Thomas to tough him. Thomas then said, “My Lord and my God.”
Paul tells us that Jesus then appeared to more than 500 followers. He also appeared to James, one of his brothers who did not believe in him, and had even tried to take him away as a crazy man. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the brothers of Jesus were with the other believers in the upper room, and James became a leader in the church. The only logical explanation for their changed view of Jesus was that they saw Jesus alive, after his death on the cross.
The resurrection of Jesus made it impossible for the disciples to stay silent. Peter and John, when they were warned by the authorities to stop speaking about Jesus, said in Acts 4:20, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Cancel Easter? Not if you believe that Jesus rose from the dead.
Of course, some say we can’t know whether Jesus actually rose to life. It was a long time ago—almost too long for us to imagine the truth of it. Yet the story has not changed; if it was true then, it is true now. So which story is more compelling: the story of the soldiers, or the story of the disciples who risked their lives for the truth of the resurrection?
Even if the story is true, some try to avoid a decision on the truth of the resurrection, because it threatens their way of life. It threatens their moral standards, their hopes and dreams for worldly success, their prejudices and privileges, or the freedom they crave. They are not seeking to discover the truth, but to manage the truth to fit the life they choose.
Others believe that Jesus rose on the third day, incredible as that seems, and their lives reflect the life he gives to those who believe. All of us know people like that—people in the church, neighbors, co-workers. Many of us have felt the influence of ancestors, perhaps generations ago, who founded families and gave us the life we have, because Jesus gave them new life.
Can Easter be canceled? Church services can be canceled. Public celebrations can be canceled. But the truth of Easter, that Jesus rose from the dead, cannot be canceled.
Yes, this Easter will not be as festive as some. Yet this Easter, the reality of the resurrection might have greater impact, as we are humbled by our inability to control our health, our movement, and economy. This Easter, we are less distracted by endless activities, and we feel how precious life is. This Easter, we our forced to face the reality of death, in ways that we could otherwise avoid.
And this Easter, the words of the angel are no less true than they were at that pivotal time in history, when the angel said, “He is not dead. He is alive.”
Because he lives, he is Lord of all. Because he lives, we live. Because he lives, all of life is transformed, forever.
