Easter Brings Life

John 1:1-9

What is Life? Where is Life?

Zoe vs. Bios

The Gospel story we sometimes miss the grand finale -- the kingdom of God - is here, is now.

The death and resurrection of Jesus brings LIFE. John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” --- Jesus came to bring you Zoe. Life to the full. The thief came to steal and destroy.

English - 1 word for life. Greek (language of the NT) - 2 words. -- BIOS and ZOE

-Bios -- A state of being alive, living. (which we get the word Biology, biography, etc.)

-- The duration of life, the means/manner of life

-Zoe -- The absolute fullness of life.

The Holy Scriptures propose something AUDACIOUS --- that there is a way of life that is lived to the fullest. Constantly, eternally, and that it alone knows the way of that life. The Bible says there is a WAY to FULLNESS of LIFE to (ZOE). That there is a version of a “best-lived life” that can be lived out. That can be walked out.

All other pathways will be in vain. ----------- All other means of this “fullest life” will at BEST be temporary.

-----The entire Bible points to this life that comes from/through Jesus----the Gospel of John. Put a bow on it. THE GOSPEL STORY

ZOE (the fullness of life) comes from Jesus. JESUS CAME TO BRING US LIFE. ZOE LIFE.

John 1:1–5 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

-v. 4 - IN Jesus there is LIFE (zoe). And that (zoe) is the light of men!

**The Gospel of John starts with - Jesus being ZOE. And being light.

**And it doesn’t stop there, Zoe is all over this Gospel and it causes us to read it in a different light. Look at John 3:16.

John 3:16 -Believing in Jesus and you have eternal (zoe).

Look at John 1 again — for it’s super important for how we understand our own PURPOSE and how we view life. What we chase after, what we seek, where we try to find contentment, peace, and purpose.

Searching Among the Dead?

Where is the source of life? And I don’t mean like bios life… breathing. I mean ZOE life as in life that feels full. Contentment.

-We all chase it so we might as well acknowledge this question.

As Christians we believe that LIFE is found from it’s source. Now that sounds obvious but stay with me for a minute.

If there is a God, which I believe there is. That means this God created life itself and everything in it. The creator of life. Thus, the one who who has an unlimited supply of it.

The creator and the source of life is the one that can give us this fullness. This contentment.

However, we often chase it in other places.

There are three sources we chase life:

1- From the TRUE source of life - the creator of Life. John 1:4

2- From secondary sources of life - things that don’t have the source but have traces of God’s creation and life in it.

-Friendship, hard work that shows results, having fun, laughter, love, etc.

3- From dead things or mostly dead things

-Fame

-POWER

-Money

-Addictions

Remember this - because this is your journey. Where do you want life from? The actual source or secondary sources? Or truly even dead places which end up sucking your life more than giving you life?

Let’s pick up the Easter story now…

Mark 16:1–8 NIV

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

You ever seen those movies where at the very beginning there’s a character in some sort of predicament.

-He’s jumping a fence with a dog chasing him and the police behind him.

-Record scratch… “You may be wondering how I got into this position… Well that’s a good story.”

And then the scene changes and the story starts from earlier in the timeline.

If you are new to church or Christianity you may be wondering… as the women approach the tomb and their savior, the Messiah died, “You may be wondering how we got in this predicament?” Or even earlier… when Jesus is hanging on the cross…

Why did Jesus die? What was the point?

The easy answer is because as humans we have cut ourselves off from life. From God. We have chosen our own autonomy over God. And because of that — without life… we are dead.

So Jesus took death upon himself and give us an option for life. Him. Believing in him and then we can have NEW LIFE.

Yet - here’s the thing as we head about our lives, we walk among the tombs still looking for life amongst the dead.

-The things we think will bring us life - can’t and won’t. So we like the women are searching among the dead.

The dead things call to us to say ‘please, life is here! Full life!”

-Things like fame, power, money, materialism, politics. But those things want to suck life not give it.

In the 19th century, many people believed that wealth could buy happiness, leading to lavish lifestyles. However, figures like John D. Rockefeller, despite becoming one of the richest men, confided that he often felt empty inside. His pursuit of riches revealed the hollowness of chasing meaning in materialism…

The problem with the cultural narrative is that we are TOLD and we truly believe in our core that CONTENTMENT is around the next bend.

-Yeah… but I’ll be at peace when I’m married.

-When I get my degree

-When I get a new job

-When I fall in love

-When I get a new house

-If I just made a bit more money

So it’s hard to convince people that PEACE and the ZOE LIFE only comes from Jesus because most often they go, “that’s nice for you… but I’m only one step away from happiness. I am on the verge of a _______.” Raise/bonus/wedding/etc.

ZOE only comes from Jesus.

John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” -- Zoe life is this interactive relationship with God (Jesus) AS we live in the world.

”What it means to be saved is to be living a life of interaction with Jesus, and that’s the only description of eternal life in the New Testament: John 17:3, where Jesus says, in his prayer, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” Now again, know does not mean to know about him…[but to KNOW him]. So eternal life, then is an interactive relationship with God. That’s what salvation is.” --Dallas Willard

KNOW Jesus -------> Zoe Life

ZOE IS FOUND THROUGH AN INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.

This is why we are obsessed with WITH JESUS and LIKE JESUS around here.

-With Jesus brings us life.

-Being like him helps us bring life to others and helps us walk in a way in which he created us to be!

Why Easter Matters

Remember the question we asked earlier —- Why did Jesus die? And the follow-up why did he come back to life? Why do Christians celebrate Easter?

The simple answer is

John 1- In Jesus is LIFE. He created it and is it. It’s the LIFE of mankind.

But as humans we’ve all chosen to go our own way. Our selfishness and evil lead us into the darkness. So Jesus came to bring LIGHT and lead us to LIFE.

His death actually provided that pathway. He took our own deaths to sin, decay, evil, selfishness on HIMSELF.

So now those that believe in Jesus can walk in the NEW LIFE —- HIS LIFE.

This is Easter matters. This is why we celebrate. This is why it’s a big deal. We weren’t going to get there ourselves.

We have been offered LIFE from the CREATOR OF LIFE and the SOURCE OF LIFE.

And through Jesus’ death and LIFE we can have that through an interactive relationship with him. This IS HUGE.

But it also takes death… Death to self. Death to evil. Death to darkness.

That starts in us. We have to come to terms with the reality that we can’t do it on our own.

New life has to be born within us, and that new life will not be born until there has been a collision with Christ. A real collision—the sinner has been met and defeated in his own will, his own life brought down to the dust. He will always remember and look back upon that encounter, as happily he goes forward in his faith. His soul and the heart of God met in violent conflict for a moment, but God won, and then the heart of the man surrendered, and he said, “Thy will be done.”13

A. W. Tozer

Which puts the choice before us. You my friend can keep chasing it your own way. Trying to find life in all the different places you think it may be. Be content with a half-lived life. You get to choose if you want new life. No one will force it upon you. No one will wrestle you to the ground and force you to take a drink of forgiveness and faith.

You get to choose if you are tired of chasing LIFE in other places. And want to come to the source of life.

That’s what Easter is all about. He is ALIVE and you can be ALIVE too!

What are some practical steps you can take to cultivate a deeper, interactive relationship with Jesus to experience Zoe life?

In what areas of your life are you currently seeking fulfillment in secondary sources rather than from the true source, Jesus?

How does understanding the distinction between Zoe and Bios change your perspective on what it means to live a fulfilling life?

As you reflect on the concept of Zoe life, what does it mean for you to have 'life to the full' in practical terms?

How can you encourage others around you to seek the true source of life instead of temporary solutions?

What are some dead or mostly dead things in your life that you need to let go of to pursue a fuller life in Christ?

Reflecting on your daily life, how can you prioritize seeking God as your primary source of life?

How do cultural ideas about success and happiness challenge your understanding of Zoe life?

What specific changes can you implement in your life this week to pursue an interactive relationship with Jesus?

How can you share the meaning of Easter and the concept of Zoe life with friends or family who may be seeking fulfillment?