Resurrection Sunday 2026

Resurrection Day • Sermon • Submitted 17 days ago • Presented 16 days ago

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Hallelujah, what a day! This day, the first day of the week, the 8th day from the triumphal entry, is exactly the fulcrum of the entirety of Scripture. We have been teaching thru Exodus in our weekly study, and as we’ve been teaching thru it, we have settled with the fact that Mt Saini has not yet been found for sure. We don’t know where Moses was given the 10 Commandments, where the Israelites got the chance to hear the voice of God from the mountain.

The location of that mountain isn’t important to tell us for some reason, and that’s OK. The Mountain that IS important to the Christian is Mt Moriah. This is where Jerusalem is built today, and Moriah means “Chosen by Jehovah.”

A hotly contested and studied fact as well is the date of Jesus crucifixion. Was it Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? We know for sure it wasn’t Saturday. Does that even matter to the Christian? It’s VITALLY IMPORANT that Christ went to the Cross, but the date doesn’t matter. The enemy is busy muddying the waters and dividing people. The only date that is clear, that is NOT in dispute by anyone, is this:

Luke 24:1–2 NKJV

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Each Gospel states the first day of the week. Sunday as we know it today, somehow, a guarded and sealed tomb with a several ton stone tied in place out of fear that this madman named Jesus might find a way, either by way of His disciples stealing His body from the grave, OR that He would do what He said and arise from the dead conquering death and return. The Sanhedrin and Romans could not have this happen.

They knew there was no way, after what had been done to Jesus prior to His Crucifixion. He was quietly in that tomb to the rest of the world for at least a little while. Enough time to give those religious leaders a glimmer of hope.

The Crucifixion of Jesus and His Resurrection coincide with 2 feasts. Passover, and the Feast of First fruits. This past week, I had the chance to go to the Keystone Project training center and partake with my family in their Seder meal. The word Seder means “Order.” It’s a traditional Passover meal that lasts several hours, and it was first instituted in Exodus 12, which we read last week.

This is the meal Jesus would have with His disciples in the Upper Room, before He would go to the Garden of Gethsemane and be arrested while praying to the Lord. Thruout the book of Exodus as we’ve been going, the theme the Lord wants of His people is: “Remember Me.” The traditional Seder meal was originally taken to remind the Israelites of God’s Love and Redemption for them out of Egypt. It was changed around the time of the destruction of the temple as a reminder of the temple sacrifices, as well as the exodus from Egypt.

But that was not its true intention. It was a shadow of Jesus and that Jesus would be the fulfillment of Passover, the final sacrifice, one for all. Jesus and the Disciples took of the Seder the day before Passover in the Upper Room.

Luke 22:14–16 NKJV

14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Pray - UNITY SLIDE

UNITY SLIDE

The meal consists of 3 loaves of Mozza Bread. Jewish tradition says these represent the Priests, the Levites, and the People, in that order. This is unleavened crispy bread.

MOZZA SLIDE

4 cups of wine. The 4 cups stand for: Sanctification, Judgement, Redemption or Blessing, Praise. Wine of that time was not the wine we have today, it was not always made to get you drunk like ours is today.

And a plate that would be set before the father of the household

SEDER SLIDE

Zeroah - A peice of lamb meat on the bone - today it’s just a shank bone

Salt Water - Tears

Karpas - Vegetable - Life

Bietza - Egg - New Life - Temple Sacrifice

Marar - Bitter Herbs - Hardship of being in Egypt

Charoset - Apples Pears Nuts and Wine - Mortar

It was funny, and intimidating when we walked into the dining hall, because immediately the Emcee for the event looked at me and said: “Dad - You’re seat is right here. You are the head of the household, you will be handling the elements to the rest of the table.” The father was to lead his family. It would be MY job, if I were truly leading the ceremony in my house, to be leading my family in this meal, as well as all other spiritual things.

Before the meal would start, a lamb would be sacrificed, and some of the blood would be applied to the doorpost and the lintel of the door to symbolize the protection of the family from the Lord’s destroyer that was going to go thru the land of Egypt. It is then prepared for the meal. In Jesus’ time, the application of the blood was still practiced.

The meal starts with a blessing and the mother lighting 2 candles. One named Keep, the other Remember, because this is what the Jews should do as they await the Messiah.

The main cup is divided out for the 4 servings, and they drink the first cup of Sanctification together. It follows the promise of the 4 “I Will” statements that God promised to Moses in Exodus 6:6-7

Exodus 6:6–7 NKJV

6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

They would take a large draft of their cup Then the meal starts:

SEDER SLIDE

The father takes the parsley, which represents life, and dips it in the salt water which is symbolic of tears. To the jew, it’s to remind them of the life they had in Egypt and the tears for the sorrow they experienced in bondage.

Then, the kids are to ask the father about the story of the Exodus, and he would answer their questions, retelling the story of God’s redemption thru Moses.

The family would then dip their finger into the cup of Judgement and drop a drop of wine on a plate, one drop for each of the 10 plagues upon Egypt.

They then take of the 2nd cup

Exodus 6:6–7 NKJV

They drink of the cup, then hold up the “Unity” with the 3 Mozza in it and say a blessing.

UNITY SLIDE

The tradition is that the top matza of the 3 represents the Priests, the middle matza represents the Levites, and bottom one the people. At this point, they remove the MIDDLE matza cracker, and break it in half, take half of the broken matza and hide it in a handkerchief and set it aside.

Then they are to take the top matza and break it into olive sized pieces and dip it in the Maror or the horse radish. This is designed to bring tears to the people at the table to remind them of the bitter years they spent in Egypt. This is designed specifically to make the one consuming it respond, to retch, for those of you who have eaten horse radish or wasabi before, it clears your sinuses and wakes you up some too.

Then they take of the Charoset, a sweet mixture to cleanse the palate. Taking from the bottom matza and making sandwiches with it. the Charoset is made to represent the mortar for the bricks that would hold the structures together they would make in Egypt.

Then they have dinner, and the father hides the Afikomen piece that’s hidden in the handkerchief.

Dinner would go like this:

Exodus 12:7–11 NKJV

7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

They would then reenact the meal, all of this is as a reminder of what the Lord did for them, delivering them from Egypt.

After dinner, the children would be released to find the Afikomen that had been hidden. - The broken piece which is translated “that which comes after.” When it was found, the one who found it would return it to the father for a monetary prize. Then they would proclaim a blessing and consume the Afikomen.

At this point, there would be another blessing and they would drink of the 3rd cup, the cup of Redemption:

Exodus 6:6–7 NKJV

Then, they would open the door for Elijah to see if he had returned yet. There would be a special table set aside for him if he came in. They knew that he was prophesied to return at the end of days from Malachi 4:5-6.

After confirming that he was not there, they would take the Cup of Praise and sing a song and close the evening.

Exodus 6:6–7 NKJV

God is telling His people, Remember Me. Over and over and over again, Remember what I did for you and how much I love you.

That first sacrifice in Exodus 12 was not done at a temple. It was done at the home. The lamb would be brought into the home and cared for and examined for 4 days. If you read the account of Jesus from Palm Sunday until He stands before a crowd of people chanting “Crucify Him,” we find that Jesus is examined by the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes, by Herod, and Pilate. Each examination, He is found without blemish. No sin was found in Him. The perfect passover lamb.

It was performed by the father. He would capture the blood of the lamb in a basin. He would need to embrace this animal as it was dying in his arms, because the blood was needed. After performing the sacrifice and preparing it to be cooked, he would take a hyssop branch and dip it in the blood. He would strike the top of the doorpost, as he stands in the doorway, up, strike. Then he would strike the left and the right side, usually about shoulder level, strike, strike. Making the sign of the Cross with the strikes.

The meal starts with the candles” Keep” and “Remember.” Recognizing that the Lord kept them in life and preserved His people.

The wine, in 4 cups, 4 in Hebrew Numerology represents the world, the 4 corners of the compass, the 4 winds.

While Jesus was on the cross, preparations were being made for this meal. The sacrifice would be made at twilight.

When Jesus takes the first cup, in Luke 22 he tells his disciples to distribute it among themselves.

One cup, divided among the people at the table. One cup poured out into their cups, to then be poured out to their families in years to come. Then they take partake of the first cup. The cup of Sanctification. This would remind the people they are set apart by God. Christ fulfilled the sanctification of the people.

The Karpas - the vegetable dipped in the salt water. Life dipped in tears of bondage. As the tears of The Messiah, who John said was the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the World. He was The Way, The Truth, The Life were fresh on his face. They should remember and see, right?

The cup of Judgement - “I will rid you out of their bondage.” Jesus would be the sacrifice with the power to break the chains of bondage to sin that we all encounter. Now, thruout scripture, there is no reference to this cup in the Passover meal Jesus has with the disciples. There was mention of a cup in the Garden of Gethsemane, was there not?

Luke 22:41–43 NKJV

41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

Here, Jesus begins taking the judgement of the Lord upon His shoulders. Shortly from here, he would be arrested, abandoned, tried. As the people are drinking, the one who would rid the world from the penalty of their sins would be accepting the judgement so we do not have to.

Then the Unity would be blessed, the middle matza would be taken out and mysteriously broken, some of it hidden in a handkerchief for a later search and redemption price to be paid for it. Jewish leaders cannot tell you why that one is broken, it’s tradition...We can tell you, though, that the Unity actually represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is the Son who would be broken for us, and wrapped in a handkerchief and set aside for later.

Then the top matza would be broken into small pieces for each person at the table and dipped in the Maror or horseradish. We see this depicted specifically in John 13:26

John 13:21–27 NKJV

21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” … 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”

The top matza, represents God the Father. He speaks thru Jesus as he dips that matza into the horseradish and hands it to him. I always thought it was dipped in the wine, it’s not. The unleavened bread, with the bitter herbs would bring tears to the world thru Jesus’ sacrifice.

The father of the household would dip the matza and hand it out, bringing the whole table to tears. Some of them now have been brought to tears about what they witnessed upon the events of the day. I can’t imagine how scary a scene it would have been to have witnessed the screaming for Barabbas.

After the tears came the Charoseth. The bottom matza would be broken and a sweet paste would be consumed that was to represent the mortar that held together the bricks the Israelite slaves made.

The bottom matza represents to us, the Holy Spirit - it is what is what unites all Christians the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit enters our heart and starts going to work on us. It is sweet to remove the bitter and strong taste of the Maror. When we leave our life of sin behind, it is the Holy Spirit that begins restoring the years the locusts have eaten, the futility of our lives.

At this point, they eat dinner. They would consume the lamb. They would take the lamb into themselves. At this time, the Afikomen, the broken piece of the middle matza would be hidden in the house. When it was found, it would be redeemed for a prize. This represents to the Christian the burial and resurrection of Jesus. Upon His death, He welcomed the sin of the whole world. Paul says it was His Joy to take it. He didn’t just say “Yeah, I guess I’ll take this task on.” No, He said “Let’s do this! You’re worth it!

After dinner, they would take the missing piece of the matza, unwrap it from the handkerchief, and break it up and take into themselves the one who came after. This is represented by Jesus in Luke 22:19

Luke 22:19 NKJV

19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

The next verse would be the 3rd cup, the cup of Redemption:

Luke 22:20 NKJV

20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

As the people are consuming the lamb, and the missing matza, the body of Christ is being removed from the cross and prepared for burial. The cup of their redemption being poured out for them on that cross, paid in full, one for all.

The body would be wrapped in a cloth, and something special would be around the face.

John 20:6–7 NKJV

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

That word is translated “face cloth.” When you left a table in Jewish tradition, you would take the face cloth, the handkerchief, the napkin, and you would fold it and leave it at your spot. Jesus is not done. Just as for the Christian. The grave is only the beginning for us, right? He calls out of it, as He walked out of it. Into the light of Day.

The door would be opened for Elijah then by the father of the household, He would show up to usher in the reign of the Messiah, the conquering hero of Israel. Elijah will come again, but that will be during the 2nd half of the Tribulation period to testify at the Temple.

The last cup, the cup of praise, as the families are closing the meal, they would proclaim: “Next year, in Jerusalem.” They didn’t know, that day, that it was THIS YEAR IN JERUSALEM. The cup of praise’s scripture said:

Exodus 6:7 NKJV

7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

The Egyptians are symbolic of the world we live in today. Pharaoh is a representative of the devil, constantly trying to hold onto the captives, changing the game and the rules, not testing the resolve of the Lord, but waiting out the people so they lose hope.

The last words of Christ on the Cross are what? Tetelestai, It is finished. The Kingdom of God has come:

Mark 1:14–15 NKJV

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

The Passover was perfectly kept by Jesus. He was the Passover Lamb. Do you wonder why the Seder plate we see today only has a lamb shank bone on it and an egg? In 70AD, what happened? The Temple was destroyed by Rome. At that point, the sacrifices stopped. The lamb can no longer be sacrificed, so the meals since then have chicken or beef main meals.

The Egg on the plate is representative of the new life that the sacrifice would bring, and as you slice it and consume it as a family, you’re to dip them in the salt water, a time of mourning over the sacrifice...oh boy, do we understand the tears that the Lamb of God shed for us as He accepted the wrath prepared for us? The new life would be costly, painful, and there would never have to be another sacrifice to be born again.

This is the meaning of passover. That Christ would be sent, to be the unblemished lamb, that would keep the promises. That His tears, stripes and wounds would redeem the lives of the people. The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit would sustain us and point us to the Messiah who has already come. He consumed the cup of judgement that was meant for us if we die in our inequity.

Jesus, the Son, would be broken for us. Not into pieces, but broken as a whole. The man in body left on the Cross and buried. The God in Spirit had work to do, tearing the vail of the temple, opening Heaven to us, and opening the grave, to pave the way for His glorious return.

The bitter herbs would be downed by the Christ who would one day wipe away every one of our tears. He would know that we would act like Judas and Barabbas. He loves us that much. He will accept our choice to continue like those men, to be like Pharisees, and the rulers of that age. He will accept if you choose Him or not, but it’s our choice to continue on in our sin, or to step into the Light.

And for those who search for and find Jesus and accept Him, a redemption is made for them, purchasing them from the cost that crouches at the door for them as a lion to devour them. This unifies the matza cracker that was unwrapped and the 3rd cup, the cup of redemption.

What is left for us but to Praise the Most High God and the Savior He sent to redeem us but Praise Him? He accepted the cup of Praise on the Cross, as Psalm 116 states. He is all who is worthy of all of our praise.

He has prepared another table for us. The one He’s waiting to drink of the fruit of the vine again with us. One He is the master of. He’s sitting, waiting for each of us who call upon His name, repent of our sin, believe that He died as an exchange for the penalty of our sins, and walked out of the grave proving He was, and is God.

Being a part of the church, we need to be able to explain why we believe what we believe. It’s now our job, as we walk out of the tombs of our past lives...maybe some of us will be leaving that stuff behind in this building, I encourage you to leave it. Lay it at the foot of the Cross. Go and die to your sin, and walk in everlasting life with Jesus in Heaven. It’s a simple choice, and can be made by a simple prayer.

If you want, I can lead you in a prayer like that now, as our worship team comes up and we close in Praise!

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded us, and remember, He is with us always, even to the end of the age.

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