"Remember" An Easter Sermon

“Remember”

[Luke 24:6]

“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee...” (Luke 24:6)

The old adage states, “Oh how quickly we forget.”

I was relieved to find out that I’m not the only one who forgets things. Everyone does at one time or another, according to Karen Bolla, A Johns Hopkins researcher. These are the things people most often forget:

7. Whether or not you’ve just done something. 38%

6. Faces. 42%

5. What was said. 49%

4. A Word. 53%

3. Telephone numbers. 57%

2. Where something is. 60%

1. People’s names. 83%

The Forgetful Old Couple:

Here’s a familiar story...

An older couple had trouble remembering common, day-to-day things. They both decided that they would write down requests the other had, and so try to avoid forgetting. One evening the wife asked if the husband would like anything. He replied, “Yes. I’d like a large ice-cream sundae with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry on top.” The wife started off for the kitchen and the husband shouted after her, “Aren’t you going to write it down?” “Don’t be silly,” she hollered back, “I’m going to fix it right now. I won’t forget.”

She was gone for quite some time. When she finally returned, she set down a large plate in front of him with hash browns, eggs, bacon, and a glass of orange juice. He took a look and said “I knew you should have written it down! You forgot the toast!”

Memory problems are nothing new... read the text: Luke 24:1-12.

Today we will learn about the importance of remembering what is really important.

I’d like to focus our attention on verses 5-8.

5b"Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 `The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ " 8 Then they remembered his words. (NIV)

The angel’s message to the women teaches us several important lessons about Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead...

That the disciples were not expecting Him to be raised from the dead. (5b)

The disciples were greatly depressed about the crucifixion and had lost all hope...

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?

The women, none of the men, came to the tomb to “embalm” Him so they expected to find His body/corpse there.

This also significant in reference to the theory that the disciples came and stole the body of Jesus from the tomb... they were in hiding afraid to go out into public.

Significantly they had to be reminded of this vital truth.

All three of the Synoptic Gospels highlight the fact that He was no longer there, but that He had been raised from the dead.

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. (Matthew 28:6)

Although He had told them repeatedly of His passion and resurrection they had forgotten all about it by this time: See Luke 9:22, 43-45; 18:31-34.

If those vital promises proved to be true then His yet-to-be-fulfilled promises will also be fulfilled and we’d better respond accordingly to them!

This promise is the foundation of NT Christianity if it is not true everything we believe is worthless...

“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:24)

We too need to remember the promises of God to our lives today!