Easter-The Resurrection

The Cross and the Resurrection are inseparable

Luke 24:1–8 NIV

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. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.

1 Corinthians 15:12–14 NIV

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

To Paul, the resurrection was so vital, so important to what it means to follow Christ, that he says that everything he’s done with his life since Jesus reached him on the Damascus road was useless without the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20 NIV

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So Paul says - not only was Christ raised from the dead - He wasn’t going to be the only one.

If we believe Jesus came back from the dead -

We can believe that in Jesus, we will too

We aren’t just forgiven. We now have eternity with God. Think about that.

How much do we let the resurrection affect our lives?

In Romans 5, Paul talks about how knowing that we have life because Jesus is alive meant that he could rejoice even in his sufferings. (sufferings -> perseverence -> character -> hope. And hope in God is the best thing we could ever possibly have).

Imagine how big of a deal that is to Paul. He knows suffering. And he says - God has something great for me. So even my sufferings are joy, when I know that God is here with me now in them.

In fact, Paul in Philippians 1:23 talks about how he has a dilemma - that he knows that when he dies, he’ll be with Christ, and that this is the best thing that he could possibly ever receive. But if he lives, he can do good work with the philippians.

The resurrection completely upended his view of life, his future, pain, success, treasure, you name it.

If we preach the resurrected Christ, if we believe in life after death - if we REALLY believed it - can people tell by our lives?

Are we completeld and utterly transformed by this idea that one day, we’ll die - and that’s just the beginning of a grand adventure? That Jesus in the resurrection has far more for us than this life ever could even hold a candle to?

James 4:14 (NIV)

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

It’s not that this life is bad - it’s that the resurrection life is so incomparably amazing, that literally nothing in this life could ever touch our joy.

Easter is about new life

We talked about how Jesus came to earth to lift our weight.

On Good Friday we talked about how Jesus took not only our sin, and the death that accompanied it - but also our pain and our suffering.

But all of those things are the here and now. Through the Cross and the Resurrection, we have access to a new life - one that will go on forever.

And this is available to every single person.

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.