The Easter Story: what it is
1 Peter 1:18-21
A couple of F-15’s are escorting a C-130 Hercules, and their pilots are chatting with the pilot of the transport to pass the time. Talk comes around to the relative merits of their respective aircraft.
The fighter pilots contend that their airplanes were better because of their superior speed, maneuverability, weaponry, and so forth, and pointed out the Hercules deficiencies in these areas.
After taking this for a while, the C-130 pilot says, "Oh yeah? Well, I can do a few things in this old girl that you’d only dream about."
Naturally, the fighter pilots challenge him to demonstrate.
"Just watch," comes the quick retort.
And so they watch. But all they see is that C-130 continue to fly straight and level...
After several minutes the Hercules pilot comes back on the air, "There! How was that?"
The fighter pilots reply, "What are you talking about? What did you do?"
And the Hercules pilot replies, "Well, I got up, stretched my legs, and got a cup of coffee."
Similarly, many of us don’t really recognize what God has done in the Easter story. We’ve got hi-tech toys, with great graphics and things that generations before us could only dream of. And the simple 2000 year old Easter story comes along and it feels like a great old C-130 Hercules. We figure, it’s old and so what can it do! We search the world wide web, we think we’ve got Christianity nailed down. I mean look at the colossal failures of Christians through the centuries and they are numerous. But one thing through the centuries and even with modern hi-tech sophistication and our evolved sensibilities, no one can explain away is – the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The resurrection of Christ comes to us, sneaking into our consciousness, and somehow we hear a voice in that Easter story “There! How was that?”
Michael Jordan’s NBA career is over. Played his final game and he can never rise up to be the player he was. He could not even lead his team, Wash. Bullets to the playoffs. This proves he is mortal, he will not rise again to be best player in the NBA. He can’t fly anymore. No more spectacular dunks. No more last minute heroics. We’ve got to accept that Jordan won’t be an MVP caliber player anymore. But in the Easter Story we hear the opponents of Jesus nailed Him dead to the cross, and He died. There! How’s that, they say – save yourself, come down form the cross, do your Messiah thing and he died! but it ain’t over yet. I can just hear Him say “I got up and I’ve got more than just a cup of coffee. There! How’s that?” God’s Word tells us Easter story is more than we can dream of or imagine. The dead rising from the grave. Jesus got up, and that’s why !
And in essence, that’s Easter story… but there’s more! Read the bible with me…
18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you. 21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God.
1. It is a payment (v.18a)
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.”
The London Times asked a number of writers to write essays on the topic “What’s wrong with the world?” G.K. Chesterton sent in the shortest and most to the point essay:
Dear sirs:
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G.K. Chesterton
Easter story tells of God’s solution to “what’s wrong with the world”?
Bible agrees with Chesterton - in Romans:
23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
What’s wrong with the world? Some say terrorism - Afghanistan’s Taliban government – get rid of it- let the bombs fly, didn’t work, still violent place – then switch attention to get rid of Saddam, right? Well, that seems to be the premise most of the world and Iraqis go by. Now that the world has seen Saddam’s regime go down in flames, still a violent place, am I right? how come there is no sense that things are going to be OK.
Some say what’s wrong education – ads, classroom teaching – speed kills, tobacco kills, STDs that will cripple, but do we see improvement?
Better laws? – only people getting benefits – lawyers!
Better or more humane jails? – seems all we hear is people reoffending.
Now and again we hear of police warning of a sexual predator who just got released from our humane golf clubs and resorts called the penitentiary and still a danger to the community.
Most do not see that evil resides in the human heart not just in Saddam or his henchmen. IT IS IN US! We are responsible for rebelling against God. What’s wrong with the world? Chesterton is right “I am”.
From God’s point of view – somebody’s got to put things right – the evidence of history is not good. People can’t do it, bombs not the answer, nor education, or any human invention - somebody’s got to put things right and someone’s got to pay for the mess, that’s justice! We feel like it’s not our fault, we inherited this world as it is.
But The mess of sin is felt like a gunshot to the human chest. It hits hard – worldwide chaos in AIDS epidemic and now with SARS, people are dying. Many are looking for an answer in the chaos -
A poll done by The Minneapolis Star Tribune a few years ago found that 65% of the people in Minnesota believed in hell. That is a pretty high number. Only 15%, however, said they knew someone who would be a sure bet to go there, and only 3% felt that they themselves deserved to end up in hell. In other words, most folks accept hell as a reality, they just don’t see it as a danger.
But God did, and he saw the danger of the chaos, the price we deserve – our day in hell, for the hell we all help to create. So into mess, God came and he paid a price, a ransom, made the payment because justice demands someone has to pay. Every month I wish someone would make a payment – mortgage, gas, telephone, so I don’t need to pay. Wouldn’t’ it be great? Bible tells us we have a debt, and we know it. That’s the greatest thing anyone did for me. I know there is no debt to pay when I meet with God. That’s reason for Easter celebration, that’s why we celebrate Good Friday. The bill is paid, now I can go on living.
24 Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. 25 For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. Romans 3:23-25 NLT
Yes, Easter speaks price of justice is paid… Most of al Easter story speaks that it is a payment FOR ME ! Secondly, … the Easter story tells me …
2. It is AN assessment (v.18b-19)
“And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”
Maybe you have seen the MasterCard ads. Price of one thing is 30 bucks, that thing is 200 and so one but final frame shows a picture of relationship, priceless. We are of immense value…
Price of justice did not come cheap.. It was worth sending Jesus to suffer - Jesus took the blame, became the scapegoat of God’s anger – Jesus took our place. It says loudly – you and I matter to him. So there’s purpose to this universe beyond making a buck to pay the bills, and there’s such a thing as love. There is relationship and it does have an eternal dimension
Hence, Easter story is an assessment of how much God thinks of me. He says it is worth his pain, his effort, his time, his life, his blood! I am valued!
3. It is LOVE’S revelation. (v.20)
“God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.”
Says it all, does it not? “he did this for you” for u, repeat it. It was a demonstration, a display, a very public show of God’s love. Personalize it “for me” Write your name down “he did this for (Amanda, Christina, Joe, Wei, Juan, Pedro)….
Therefore , Easter story is God saying “I love you” I did it for you!
4. It is about a commitment (v.21a)
“Through Christ you have come to trust in God…”
Come Down to a choice to trust… this is the way revealed to us, to the world to see… the easter story is our story, a story of a payment made for justice. A story of god’s assessment of value regarding our worth, a revelation of god’s revealing love and if we choose through Christ we can have a way to personally come to know god.
Hence, Easter story is about a way fro us to commit to God to trust Him, to get to know Him personally.
Finally the bible tells us the Easter story…
5. It is all about assurance (v.21b)
“And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God.”
Three travelers, an American, a Russian, and an Egyptian, were circumnavigating the globe in a hot air balloon. The Russian man put his hand out and reached down into the clouds.
"Aaah!" he said. "We’re right over my homeland."
"How can you tell?" asked the American.
"I can feel the cold air." he replied.
A few days later the African man put his hand through the clouds.
"Aah we’re right over my homeland." he said.
"How do you know that?" asked the Russian.
"I can feel the heat of the desert."
Several more days later the American put his hand through the clouds.
"Aah, we’re right over New York." The Russian and the African were amazed.
"How do you know all of that?!" they exclaimed.
The American pulled his hand in and held it up for them to see. "My watch is missing."
Just like the American who can recognize he is home when his watch went missing, we too can be confident that we will be home with God when we die. Instead of my watch is missing – we say my Lord’s body is missing from the grave. He is risen! Based on the evidence of the missing body in the tomb where Christ was placed our hope can be placed confidently in God who raised. Easter is about assurance, about an iron-clad guarantee, that death will be no more, the dead shall rise and pain will be gone forever.
Easter story is the evidence I need that there’s someone who came back from the other side to show me the way. When we are lost, it’s best to ask directions, Jesus’ resurrection is the direction to God.
A testimony from Denise Reyes…
Take time to think through decision… Here’s your chance to respond … Repeat after me silently…. If u have said that prayer. We want to help u grow… write down on the green card what u did and we’ll help u. Thanks.
