“EASTER IS AMAZING” By Pastor YAU

Text: Luke 24:1-9 April 5, 2015

INTRODUCTION:

1) The uniqueness of Easter: In many religions, the faithfuls love to celebrate the birthdays of their founders as an expression of love and respect, which we all agree is a good idea. If you believe in a religion, celebrating the birthday of its founder is a good thing. But one important thing is missing: You can only celebrate the date of their birth; you can't celebrate the date of their death, because their death is final in their lives, as with all other lives, the end of it. But that is not the case in the life of Jesus: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and he died in Jerusalem, but rose again from the dead the third day as he promised. This is what separates Christian faith from all other religions: All founders of human religions died and never came back to life, except Jesus who had died but rose again from the dead. This is so because all religious founders were human beings and all human beings will die and be no more, except Jesus who is God, who rose from the dead to bring us eternal life. Because Jesus is God, and God can never die.

2) The historical facts of Easter: We celebrate Easter not as a tradition from human good will, but from historical facts: Jesus did die on the cross, was buried in a tomb, but he rose again from the dead by the power of God, so his tomb was empty the third day after his death, witnessed by his disciples and hundred of others at his time. (1 Corinth 15:6) Yes, we do celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, but we also celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter because our Lord Jesus didn't just die to provide forgiveness of our sins, he also came to life the third day to bring new life, eternal life, to all who believe in him. This is something about which no other religion in human history can compare or compete with, a living Jesus. Easter is amazing.

FIRST HISTORICAL FACT: THE CROSS: The most recognized symbol of Christian faith is the cross. Wherever you see the sign of a cross, you know this is a Christian place: a church, a bookstore, a tombstone, a refugee camp, a card, a book, a ring, a necklace, etc. Any time, anywhere you see a cross, you know that represents Jesus Christ and what he has done for the world.

1) The cross is an historical fact: “When they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified him on a cross, along with the criminals-one on his right, the other on his left. (Luke 23:33) That Jesus died on a cross is an historical fact no one can deny. He was put to death by the cruelest penalty of the Roman Empire at his time. No one has ever questioned the fact that Jesus did die on the cross. This is one major difference that Jesus did for the world: He didn't just come to preach a message of salvation, but he died on the cross to provide the path of salvation. Not one other religious founder has done this.

2) The cross is the wisdom of God: “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this world … who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and God has destined for our glory before time began.” (1 Cor 2:6-7) Man always believes in his own wisdom and efforts, that he can find his way to God by doing the best of his ability. But history proved that “we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Why is the wisdom of God greater than the wisdom of man? Because we all are sinners, and no one can achieve good enough merit to earn his own salvation. So, God's wisdom is the only way by which man may come back to God: through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

3) The cross is our reconciliation: “And in this one body to reconcile both to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (Eph 2:16) No man may approach God, because of his sin. But on the cross, Christ paved the way to bring man back to reconciliation with God. In this, the cross isn't just a symbol of Christian faith; it’s the bridge over which man is able to cross from his sin into the presence of God.

4) The cross is the sign of God's love: “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6, 8) This echoes what God announced in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Yes, we see Christ any time we see the cross, but we also see the reason behind that cross, and the reason is the great love of God that caused it to happen. Jesus was crucified on the cross as a criminal though he had no sin of his own, so all sinners of the world could be saved. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) This is all God's love.

LAST HISTORICAL FACT OF EASTER: (Luke 24:1-8)

1) The empty tomb found by the faithful: “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” (Luke 24:1-3) This is a first-hand witness of the resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb by the women who wanted to apply more spices on the body of their Lord. The resurrection was foretold by Jesus himself in Luke 18:33. Throughout the past 20 centuries, no one had disputed this historical fact: Jesus did rise from the dead. His resurrection set Jesus apart and above all other religious founders.

2) The empty tomb was verified by angels: “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them, and said to them: Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen.” (24:4-5) If you can't believe the words of man, you can always believe the words of the angels: Jesus rose from the dead to life and you can't find him in the tomb. We recognize angels as messengers of God to bring good news to man, and this is the best of all good news.

3) The empty tomb is the core of the gospel: “When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to all the others.” (24:9) This is also the first message of the gospel, the risen Jesus, witnessed by one group to another group, from the women to the disciples of Jesus. The gospel of Jesus isn't about some moral teachings, or some religious rules that believers have to follow. It isn't about some steps man needs to take to earn his right to heaven, like many other religions. The gospel is about “Jesus came back from death to life.” We do not believe a dead man's words; we believe in the words of the Lord who came back from death to life.

4) The empty tomb seals our eternal life: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25) So, it is in his resurrection that we received justification from the penalty for our sins. In his death, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. In his resurrection, God proclaimed justification on us that we might have eternal life. For Christians to claim eternal life isn't just a hope or a wish, it is sealed and guaranteed to us by the resurrection of Christ. There are over 120 listings of resurrection in the New Testament. The truth of the resurrection is sure, being mentioned over 120 times in the Bible. So we know we have both the forgiveness of sin because of the death of Jesus and God’s justification and eternal life because of his resurrection. All these are given us by the love and grace of our merciful God.

STEPS TO TAKE:

1) It's time to celebrate: Just as we celebrate Christmas because it is the coming of the Lord Jesus, we also celebrate Easter because it is about the coming of a new life, eternal life, from Jesus Christ. His coming to this world is to bring the salvation message to all men. His death and resurrection is to bring us the new life, the eternal life. Therefore, it is right and good to celebrate Easter with music, festive activities, gifts and joy because this is the time we express our thanksgiving to God for his love to us. Among all the occasions that we celebrate good things in life, this is the most personal and precious to everyone who has placed his or her life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2) It's time for decision: We all have made decisions of life each and every day in our lifetime. Some are very important, others are just trivial. But this one is the most important, that affects the fate of each of us: If we are forgiven, we are saved and will go to heaven after our death. Through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Jesus has provided a way for everyone to receive eternal life. Now it is your time to make that decision. No decisions you made in your lifetime is more important than this one: Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior so you know you will go to heaven when you finish your journey of life here on earth. Do it today. Do it now.