Easter Sunday

Introduction

Good morning church family! It is so good to be gathered together on Easter Sunday to celebrate our Risen King. I’d like to say just a few things before we continue this celebration by looking at God’s Word.

The truth of Easter is true of every moment... of every day… and will continue to be… forever. That’s precisely what makes it good news. That we don’t have to earn it from one moment to the next or wonder if it will be there tomorrow. But that it is eternal in it’s use and eternal in it’s effect.

That being said… it is good to set aside a specific day for special recognition and celebration. We might be tempted to say, “well why put extra focus on Easter, if Jesus’ resurrection is true always?” And their is some truth there. If the only day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection is on Easter, then we’re missing the total life changing power and implications it has for our lives (and if that’s you today, I hope you leave today understanding it to be so much more - worth dedicating every facet of your life toward). But giving special attention one day per year of intentional set aside focus is good too. While the Bible doesn’t command it, it certainly gives plenty of precedent (festivals of the Old Testament, passover, pentecost, the Lord’s Supper). And so… we take today as specially set apart to emphasize the power, significance, and life-changing implications of Jesus’ resurrection.

And then finally, we must remember that we are not adding anything to beauty of the resurrection story today… other than our intentional and collective focus. We might be tempted to add flare and other illustrative “enhancements” in an effort to make today special. But what makes today special is the determined elimination of anything that might detract from the greatest story the world has ever known.

So… all of that being said, today we celebrate the joyous wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In all of it’s simplicity, yet it’s depth and complexity.

But first, let’s pray.

prayer

Context/Overview

If you have your Bibles with you, and I hope that you do, I’d like to invite you to turn with me to John 18. Last week, Pastor Caleb preached a message titled, “Unmet Expectations,” addressing Palm Sunday… and the anticipation the Jewish people had for their coming Savior. And today, we are going to be looking at the fulfillment of their unmet expectations. The fulfillment that cements the story of Jesus as the greatest story ever.

Which is the title for this morning’s message… “The Greatest Story Ever.”

That’s quite the claim isn’t it? The greatest story ever told? I mean… there are some good stories out there:

The Odyssey

The Great Gatsby

Moby Dick

Hamlet

Great Expectations

Or the classics…

Harry Potter

Hunger Games

Twilight

Is it really safe to say that the story Christians celebrate is the greatest story ever?

Well… I certainly believe so. And hope that after today you will to. Not just with what you say or what you claim as your religion when someone asks you. Because this story isn’t just a happy go-lucky story that we read a few times. It is a story that

...changes the very fabric of our lives

…it reads us as much as we read it

…it makes us live differently

...love differently

...see the world differently

…it gives us a hope beyond material reality we interact with every day

But it only does these things if we know it to be the best story ever. If we treat it as anything other than the greatest story ever, than it ceases to have the same power, personal inward change, and global outward change.

No other story can make such a claim.

And so… what we’re going to do is look a the whole story. Because in order to value to resurrection, we’ve got to know the backstory.

The resurrection is the climactic chapters of our story. But again… in order to understand it’s significance, we must start from the beginning.

So… we’re going to look at it in 4 scenes if you will

We’ll be in John 18 for scene 1

Created by God

John 18:33-38 “33 Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about me?” 35 “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 “What is truth?” said Pilate...”

What is truth? That’s a great question. And the first truth… or scene 1 of our story is that we are created by God

Scene 1 - Created by God

Jesus is basically on pre-trial here

Different Kingdom - exists outside of our world

Scripture tells us that Jesus created the world and everything in it - including you

Colossians 1:16 “16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.”

Think about this:

Author Ali Binazir attempted to calculate the odds of you being alive

3 factors - parents meeting, staying together long enough to have kids, the exact sperm meeting the exact egg to form you

Takes the 3 factors back through your parents and their parents and their parents and so forth

Odds come out to 1 in 10^2,685,000

To put that in perspective

There are 10^27 atoms in the body, 10^50 atoms in the earth, and 10^80

If every atom in the universe was it’s own universe, it would still be less

Better chance of 2 million people getting together, rolling a trillion sided dice and all getting the same number

Imagine there was one life preserver thrown somewhere in some ocean and there is exactly one turtle in all of these oceans, swimming underwater somewhere. The probability that you came about and exist today is the same as that turtle sticking its head out of the water — in the middle of that life preserver. On one try.

All this to show - the odds of you being born are impossible

And not just having life, but having a valuable life

I heard it said recently… (money vs. waking up illustration)

The odds may sound crazy, the value may sound crazy… but really the odds are 1 in 1 because God intentionally made you and gave your life value

This leads us to the second act

Separated from God

John 18:38-40 “...After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging him. 39 You have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So, do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 40 They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.”

Jesus is now further along in his trial… (give context)

This is scene 2 of our story: Separated from God

Who is Barabbas? We are Barabbas...

Romans 3:10-18 “10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. 14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

We have sinned, and it has separated us from God

Redeemed by Christ

Now… fast forward to John 19:16-18 “16 Then he handed him over to be crucified. Then they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.”

Describe physical torture

And John 19:28-30 “28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.”

Describe spiritual torture

But why? Why did Jesus endure these torturous acts

Well… we enter into scene 3: Redeemed by Christ

Ephesians 1:7 “7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”

expound

Restored in Christ

John 20:1–18 (CSB)

1 On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!” 3 At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. 5 Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. 8 The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.

11 But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”—which means “Teacher.” 17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.

Scene 4: Jesus rose from the grave

expound

Invitation

The Greatest Story Ever leads to The Greatest Invitation Ever

To know Jesus

To continue living for Him

To join Arlington Baptist Church