Category: Easter

The story is told about an incident in the early days of the Soviet Union. A commissar and his cohorts arrived in a small town and gathered up the locals into the town square. There he began to harangue the crowd about the blessings of the new soviet state. After two hours his speech took aim at the local priest and his church, claiming that religion was obsolete. After another hour directed against Christianity, the commissar concluded his speech with a smug smile, knowing his arguments were unassailable. He challenged the priest, saying, “And what do you have to say?” Then the priest stepped forward and cried,”Christ is risen!” to which the people replied in one voice:”He is risen, indeed!” It is amazing that even in the days of the atheistic Soviet Union, the Russian word for Sunday was Воскресенье (pronounced voskreseniye), meaning “Resurrection Day.” And we in the West named our day after the sun!

“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

That chorus will be heard proclaimed in churches around the world this Easter Sunday, just as it has been down through the centuries for almost 2000 years. Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the most life-changing, world-overturning, and hope-creating event in all of history. Without it there would be no Easter, of course. Without it, neither would there be a Christian Church. Without it, (shudder!) there would be no pastors emeriti! Without it, there would be no resurrection for you and me, nor hope of eternal life to come. But, Christ is risen (He is risen indeed!) and therefore we do have the sure and certain hope of our own resurrection to come, based on the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection and the biblically-revealed significance of what happened that first Easter.

Many people doubt that the resurrection happened, or is even possible, because they have never witnessed one in their life. But, the Bible recounts 10 resurrections, instances when people died and were brought back to life. Briefly, these are:

1. The son of a widow in Zarephath. Raised by Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-24.
2. The son of a Shunammite woman. Raised by Elisha in 2 Kings 4:18-37.
3. A man whose body was tossed into Elisha’s tomb and came to life after touching Elisha’s bones. (2 Kings 13:20-21).
4. The son of a widow from Nain. Jesus raised him in Luke 7:11-17.
5. Jairus’s daughter. Jesus raised her in Luke 8:40-56.
6. Lazarus. Jesus raised him after four days in John 11:1-44.
7. Dead saints at Jesus’ crucifixion, recounted in Matthew 27:50-53.
8. A girl named Tabitha (also called Dorcas) raised by Peter in Acts 9:36-42.
9. A man named Eutychus raised by Paul in Acts 20:7-12. (The man had fallen asleep during one of Paul’s sermons, and fell out a window to his death!
10. I may have preached a long sermon or two, but at least my listeners didn’t die from them!)

10. Finally, we come to the most important resurrection of all: Jesus Christ. You could call all the other events “revivifications.”

• Only Christ’s resurrection was permanent. The people who were raised were only temporarily alive. Eventually they would die again, and would have to await the final resurrection to come. But Christ being raised will never die again. He is bodily alive right now, seated at his Father’s right hand.
• Only Christ’s resurrection was prophesied. As we say in the Nicene Creed, “On the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures.” Christ told his disciples, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 20:19, also 16:21, 17:23).
• Only Christ’s resurrection saves us. First, his crucifixion provides for our forgiveness by canceling our debt of sin. Colossians 2:13-14 says, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Then, with our sins forgiven, we are made alive in Christ. Because Christ was raised, we too who believe in him will be raised to eternal life. His resurrection is not only a wonderful historical event; it is the seal of God’s approval that Christ did indeed cancel our sins and win life for us. Because he was raised, we too will be raised. Romans 6:4-6 tells us, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

The question is not whether Christ rose from the dead; his resurrection is one of the most attested events from ancient times, affirmed by multiple witnesses and physical evidence. Rather, the question is: how do we live, knowing that Christ, indeed, was resurrected?

First, we live in the strength  of faith.  Our faith is not anchored on a mere philosophy or fable, but in historical fact. As the Apostle Peter testified, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). Our faith gives us strength because it is more than just intellectual knowledge – it has the power to save. Romans 10 :9 promises, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Second, we live in the confidence of hope. Because Christ rose, we know that our life does not end at death, but instead will continue for all eternity. Therefore, no matter what affects us in this life, no matter how this life ends, we know with confidence that, like Christ, we too will be raised. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die ” (John 11:25-26). And according to the Apostle Paul, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:17-21).

Third, we live in the power of love. We love, because he first loved us. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:10-11, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” As Martin Luther once wrote, God does not need our works of love, but our neighbor does. Because Christ rose, we know that all his commandments and all his promises are true. This knowledge empowers us to act sacrificially for the benefit of others, caring, serving, and proclaiming to them the good news of forgiveness and resurrection to eternal life. Rather than timidly hiding our faith, we should be bold in telling others the good news, the greatest news, that anyone can hear: that Christ is risen, and will raise us as well!

There is a Gospel song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither that sums up the faith, hope, and love we can have in knowing that Christ rose from the dead that first Easter. It’s titled, “Because He lives, I Can Face Tomorrow.”*

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 11; 1 Corinthians 15

*Written by: Gloria Gaither, William J. Gaither. Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing.

 

Easter has come and gone. Well, technically, according to the Church calendar, we’re still in the season of Easter, but you know what I mean. For all intents we are now living in a post-Easter world. No more chocolate bunnies in the stores, no marshmallow Peeps, and no Easter lilies. Or, for those more spiritually-minded (like me) no more special services nor singing of Jesus Christ is Risen Today. Easter is past.

So, what’s changed? What difference did Easter make? If, as the Lord said, “I am making all things new,” (Revelation 21:5), everything, or at least something, has to be new and different. Why would we celebrate Easter if nothing has changed because of it?

At first glance, nothing has changed (except those vanishing Peeps). The world goes on just as it always has. Wars are raging in Ukraine and other places not in the news; people are still catching and fighting Covid and other diseases; accidents still injure people and take lives; criminals run as rampant as ever; people marry and divorce; poverty still afflicts much of the world; our culture continues to degrade; people age and die, and politicians lie and enrich themselves. The words of Scripture remind us of this continuity:

King Solomon lamented (3000 years ago), “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

In Mark 13:7 Jesus said, “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.”

As life goes on with no apparent change, we are tempted to join in asking what the scoffers ask: “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4).

The daily cycle of life continues: wake up, wash, eat, go to work or play, eat some more, do a hobby or some recreation, catch a nap (oh, yeah!), interact with family and friends, eat again, enjoy some entertainment, and go back to bed. As our shampoo bottles advise, “Lather, rinse, repeat.” Beyond each day, we experience the same weekly, monthly, and annual cycles, usually interrupted only by tragedies or disasters. Nations rise and fall, kings and presidents come and go, wars begin and end, and other seemingly momentous events pass into obscurity and are forgotten. It seems that, Easter or not, nothing has really changed.

And yet . .  .and yet, everything has changed. Maybe not because of this year’s festivities, but because of the event we celebrate this and every Easter: the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. In the last blog, I wrote about the centrality of the resurrection to the existence of Christianity and the Christian Church; but the significance of the resurrection is even greater than that. The resurrection is the central event in the history of the world; nothing compares to it.

Without the resurrection that first Easter, our transitory lives would not amount to much more than what Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances. . .” (Act II, Scene VII ). The pronouncement of Ecclesiastes 2:17 would apply to us all: “for all is vanity and a striving after wind.” And, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15:32, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'” Or, as we might say it today, “that’s all she wrote.”

But Christ was raised from the dead, and this changes everything. How so?

1. The universal law of death was overturned. As Scripture says, death has no dominion over him (Romans 6:9). Death could not hold Jesus. His resurrection is permanent. He is bodily alive forever; Romans 6:9 also proclaims, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.”`
2.  His resurrection validates his identity and ministry. It is a sure sign that Jesus is who he said he is. Over the centuries, many others have claimed to be saviors of one kind or another, but they all died and didn’t rise again. There is an interesting passage in Acts 5:34-37 in which a Pharisee named Gamaliel recounts some failed messianic pretenders. He tells how their deaths ended their revolts. But Jesus was no pretender. He prophesied his own death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21), then fulfilled them just as he said. He had already shown his divine power over sickness, storms, and spirits; by overcoming death he proved who he was.
3. Christ’s resurrection showed that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Our sins have been atoned for and forgiven. It’s one thing to offer forgiveness, but how do we know the offer is valid? We have the proof in the resurrection of the One who offered himself for us. As Job said in Job 19:25, “For I know that my Redeemer lives.”
4. Because he lives, Christ is able to intercede on our behalf as our high priest before the Father. Hebrews 7:23-25 tells us that whereas all previous priests died and had to be replaced, Christ “holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.” He is seated at the Father’s right hand.
5. We now have the promise, and proof, of eternal life for ourselves who are joined to Christ by faith. Paul writes, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). There are many passages that promise the coming of our own resurrections to eternal life. But without Christ’s resurrection, those promises would carry much less weight.
6. Finally, the resurrection of Christ changes our perspectives on life. Our lives gain new significance and importance because we know that the God who created us has provided a way for us to overcome the world and death itself. The big question of where our life is headed has been answered. We belong to a loving God who bought us with the price of his own Son, who indwells us by his own Spirit, and who is changing us from one degree of glory to another. We gain new purpose in life, praising God and telling others of who he is and what he has done.

We are living in a post-Easter world, which should give us joy and hope, for no matter what happens now, we will always be living in a world that follows the resurrection of the One who died to give us life. What happened that first Easter can never change or be negated. He lives, and because he lives, we also will live (John 14:19) – now and forever to come.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.