(All Rights Reserved) March 31, 2013
"DEATH DEFEATED" (Easter Sunday)
If you attended a Maundy Thursday Service, the last words you
likely heard were: "They handed him over to be crucified."
The last hours of Jesus’ life were a total confusion for his disciples:
-Their leader had been arrested without his resisting.
-He was mocked, tried and convicted in an illegal trial,
with no defense.
-The disciples fled out of fear for their own lives.
-Peter had enough courage to follow Jesus but denied ever knowing
Him, when he was backed into a corner.
-John was one disciple who saw Jesus hanging on the cross.
-"Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses and
the mother of James and John" were among the many women,
with Jesus’ mother, witnessing the cruelty and Jesus’
agony on the cross.
-The darkness which engulfed the land, when Jesus died only
characterized the darkness, loneliness and anger the disciples
must have felt. "Something, terrible, grand and awesome had
occurred on the place of the skull." Latter the disciples learned
that at the moment Jesus gave up his spirit and died,
"The veil in the temple was torn - hence the Holy of Holies would
be open for everyone and the cross had sealed a New Covenant.
Power of New Life had begun!
None of this was clear to the Scattered Followers.
That Sabbath beginning at sundown Friday running through
sundown Saturday, while Jesus’ body lay in a borrowed tomb
not fully prepared for burial, must have been the longest period
of time in His follower’s lives:
-Feeling the dread of death and life with out Jesus.
-What would they do now?
-How could they worship a God who allowed such a
great man, who had done so much good and transformed
so many lives including their own to suffer such cruelty and death?
-They lived in utter defeat!
History dramatically changed that week, (Holy Week.)
The closing scene, was - First Easter Morning!
-That Band of Cuddled, Cowards who abandoned Jesus
in a time of Crisis "Took On The World!"
What brought about the change?
by rising up and personally meeting his disciples.
Three Imperatives: Apply to Us!
Urged to Believe! (Matthew 28:6)
The women who had seen Jesus nailed to a Roman Cross,
declared dead, removed from cross and placed in a tomb
(Joseph from Arimathea) (Matthew 27:57-61), saw the huge stone
rolled in front, sealing the tomb. (Read Matthew 27:62-66)
Imagine the urgency the women must have felt as dawn dispelled
the darkness. Maybe they were awaken by a violent earthquake.
They could hardly wait to complete the preparation of Jesus’ body
for burial. What emotion must have gripped the women when they
saw the large stone had been moved from the opening of the tomb.
-Fear: Grave Robbers? Desecration of Jesus’ body?
-Joy: Angel of God: "Do Not Be Afraid! Good News!
I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
The news was too good, was it true? It was beyond belief.
God knew that. That is why a Messenger was sent.
The Angel reminded the women of Jesus’ promise that he would
not remain in the tomb but rise to life.
The Angel gave Four Messages applicable to us as well.
1. Do Not Be Afraid. - The Resurrection brings Joy!
When you are afraid, remember the empty tomb!
2. He Is Not Here. - Jesus is not dead, not found
among the dead. He is alive among his people.
3. Come and See. - The women could check the
evidence. (Force of the Greek Verb is one of
"seeing with intention of being a witness.")
Remove all doubts. The reason the stone was
rolled back was not so Jesus could get out but so
that all could see the tomb was empty.
It is still empty today! The resurrection is a historical fact!
(Jesus gradually revealed himself, bringing his followers along
according to their capacity to comprehend.)
(Read Matthew 28:11-15) – Guards are bribed.
The fourth message was the second imperative:
Urged to Share! (Matthew 28:7)
4. Go Quickly and Tell the Disciples: - The women were conferred
the honor of proclaiming the Good News: The joy of the resurrection.
We too are to share the good news about Jesus’ resurrection.
Imagine the excitement those women felt when they saw the
empty tomb and heard the Angel’s Message: Christ has risen!
When You hear good news, what is the first thing you
want to do? "Tell Someone, right?"
You grab the phone and call your friends and family
to spread the news!
Angie could hardly contain herself. She wanted us to know and
give thanks to God for her granddaughter’s being able to come
home after three months in the hospital fighting for her life.
"We are pregnant. Our baby was born. I got a new job.
I was accepted into graduate school. We just got engaged.
We made NCAA-Basketball Final Four!"
There is little doubt the women didn’t need the urging to tell
others – but they were assured that it was OK to tell others.
The women were given a specific message to take to the disciples.
It was another of Jesus’ promises: I will meet you in Galilee.
(Matthew 26:32)
It is in context of Jesus telling the disciples and especially
Peter that they would "fall away on account of me ...
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Jesus’ resurrection is the Key to Christian Faith.
Five Reasons:
1. Jesus kept his promises. Just as he said, he rose from the dead.
We can be confident that he will accomplish all that he has promised.
2. Jesus’ bodily resurrection shows the living Christ is ruler of
God’s eternal kingdom, not a false prophet/imposter.
3. We can be certain of our resurrection because he was
resurrected. Death is NOT the end! There is a future life
Death Swallowed by Triumphant Life.
Who got the last word, of Death?Oh Death, who’s afraid of you now? (I Corinthians 15:55)
4. The power that brought Jesus back to life will bring our
spiritually dead selves back to life.
5. Resurrection is the basis for the churches’ witness to the world.
The implication is that Jesus is more than a human leader;
he is the Son of God!
Urged to Rejoice! (Matthew 28:9)
Once again, imagine the emotions those women were experiencing:
"Awe & Great Joy," as they ran off to tell the disciples the
wonderful news! Suddenly Jesus steps into their path and his first
words were: Xaipete! The NIV translates the word as: Greetings:
Hello, hi, good morning, aloha, shalom, ciao the list is endless.
The word Jesus uses is lost in the English Translations.
None capture Xaipete! The word is the imperative form of Xaipw=
Rejoice! Be Glad! Be Joyful! Be Full of Joy!
Even those words loose the impact. Illustrations of same word
Used of the "Wisemen ... when seeing the star."
Jesus: ... "you reward is great in heaven."
When lost sheep was found he ...
Wouldn’t it be exciting if we greeted each other with rejoice!
rather than Hello! In this word we are not rejoicing in our
situation but in the Hope demonstrated on Easter. Xaipete!
When we have seen the evidence and felt despair turn to
hope we cannot but Rejoice! We of all people should rejoice
because we have the certainty the Death is Defeated!
It is that assurance that allows us to rejoice when people
mock us. When life is rough. When we face death.
There is nothing you or I will ever experience that
Jesus did not experience. We have the promise that
Jesus conquers all forces and that nothing can separate
us from his love, not even death!
Jesus reaffirms the message given to the women
Go tell my brothers (Disciples) to go to Galilee; there they will see me.
The temptation of the women would have been to cling to Jesus.
"We lost you once, we don’t want to loose you again. " From the other Gospels we read that the disciples
did not believe the women or were still afraid and
remained behind locked doors rather than traveling
to Galilee, so Jesus met them there and then in Galilee.
Thus the Three Imperatives are given to us today
Believe! (The Evidence)
Share! (Don’t keep Good News to yourself)
Rejoice! (Your Fears are conquered)
I Corinthians 15:13-30: Affirms the implication of Jesus' resurrection for us.
12-15 Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling.
If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation
that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people
say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no
resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it— if there’s no
resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and
mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and
mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of
telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits
we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—
sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
16-20 If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was
indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is
wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those
who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already
in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few
short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been
raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.*
Do You Believe In Easter?
If so, live in it’s hope and share it's good news with others!
* Taken from The Message.
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