What is the Reason for Easter? The Resurrection!

In the last several weeks, I have pondered a question that we generally ask around Christmas. “What is the reason for the season?” I’ve pondered this question and the reason is right here in front of us. We are able to see through the eggs and the bunnies and all of the other fun when we remember what the real reason is. The reason for Easter, which means first stand, is the resurrection. The resurrection is everything. It ties the death of Jesus together. The atonement was not in vain.

Read Matthew 27:62-28:10

The resurrection of Jesus is a threat to those who don’t believe

To begin an Easter sermon with the end of chapter 27 is not something I’ve ever done but as I was reading and preparing over the last several weeks, the interaction between the religious leaders of the day and Pilate was significant because it has so much to do with the resurrection of Jesus.

They quote Jesus as having said, “after three days I will rise.” Now, we have no reason to believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Yet, they took this threat seriously and for good reason. Listen to some of what Jesus said.

Matthew 12:38–41 ESV

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Matthew 16:21 ESV

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 17:9 ESV

And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

Matthew 17:22–23 ESV

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

Mark 10:32–34 ESV

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

John 2:18–22 ESV

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

The chief priest and Pharisees had ample reason to be concerned. They may not believe that Jesus was the Messiah but they were concerned about the possible disappearance of the body of Jesus and the events that would take place afterwards.

The solution that they give here to ensure that the body of Jesus is not taken away or tampered with was to place guards at the tomb as well as seal it so that they would know if the stone had been moved in any way.

After this request is made of Pilate, he grants them their request but what I find to be the most interesting verse in this section is in verse 64. “… lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”

What they believed that Jesus is that He was a fraud. He didn’t perform miracles. His claim as the Messiah was heresy. But a resurrection would have been confirmation of the fact that He was indeed the Messiah.

They didn’t know it at the time, but Jesus’ resurrection was much more of an issue for them than they could have imagined.

Acts 5:27-33.

Acts 5:27–33 ESV

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

Rather than quieting the disciples of Jesus, it only fueled their boldness. The threat of death to cease preaching that He died and was raised from the dead did nothing to their zeal to proclaim the gospel to any and all who would hear it.

The reality is that there are many who do not believe in what the bible says about Jesus Christ and it is not because of a lack of evidence. There is no tomb that his bones are still in. There were eyewitnesses as we will read of in just a moment. They do not believe because Jesus being the Messiah is a threat to the way that they desire to live. There are many here who would say that they believe but have not actually put their actions where their mouths are because it would change what their hearts desire.

For those who do not believe, the resurrection of Jesus is a threat. But to those of us who do believe, it is the defining moment of history!

We first see the threat but next we recognize that

The resurrection of Jesus communicates the overwhelming power of God

In chapter 28, learn of a group of ladies who go to see the tomb. While Matthew only mentions the two Marys, other accounts vary in who is mentioned. We are then told that early on that Sunday morning, the tomb was rolled away by the arrival of an angel. The angel’s arrival causes the guards to fall over in fear.

But it wasn’t the angel that possessed this power Himself. Instead, it is the power of the almighty Creator that sends this angel, that rolls away the stone, and brings our Savior back to life! The angel announces, “HE HAS RISEN!” The grave could not hold our Lord and there was visible proof for the ladies. We are never asked to give blind faith.

The angel tells them not to be afraid and to go and see where he lay. This proof was yet more an example of the power of God. It is everything and adds value to the death of Jesus on the cross as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19.

1 Corinthians 15:14–19 ESV

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Because of the empty tomb, there was no need any longer to fear death for human beings. There is no uncertainty regarding death when we believe in Jesus as the Messiah. We are able to embrace that power as our own.

The remainder of this message revolves around the response of hearing the news that Jesus was resurrected.

The resurrection of Jesus fills those who believe with great joy

In verse 8, those who had heard the message of the angel that Jesus had risen leave quickly. They are filled with both fear and joy. The joy that they have is the confirmation that the Lord that they loved so much was alive. They go with great purpose and leave the tomb and the guards who likely were still laying there on the ground.

Yes, there was joy in the moment as they departed from the tomb but I would venture to say that this joy did not escape them in the days to come. In the same way, you and I ought to walk each and every day with the same sort of joy each and every day. The tomb is just as empty today as it was on that early Sunday morning!

Joy was not the only reaction, though.

The resurrection of Jesus is reason to be humbled and worship Him

I don’t believe that they were expecting to encounter Jesus so soon but very quickly after they left the tomb, these ladies ran into Jesus. He greets them and they only have one response.

They fall to His feet in worship. We worship Jesus because He is the resurrected King!

Think with me about these women. They were the first to See the stone rolled away Learn of the resurrection See the empty tomb See and hear the risen Lord Worship the risen Lord

And history was further changed forever as billions of people have gathered on Sundays to do just as they did on that morning.

But they bow at His feet. True worship of the Lord requires us to bow before Him, humble ourselves, and praise Him as the risen Son of God.

Finally,

The resurrection of Jesus is reason enough to go and tell

Jesus tells them just as the angel did to not be afraid. Then the same instruction is given then to go and tell the others that believed to go and see Jesus in Galilee.

However, I would submit to you that even if Jesus or the angel hadn’t instructed them to go and tell the others, we certainly know that they wouldn’t have been able to contain the news of the risen Lord.

Jesus goes on to give instruction at the end of the chapter to go and tell all the world about Jesus.

If you believe, you have a requirement to go and tell just because of the glorious news. Have you done it? Will you do it?

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So, what is the reason for Easter? It is the resurrection. The resurrection divides all of humanity! The power of it is pronounced. It fills us with joy. It humbles us and is the cause for our worship. And it is the reason for us to go and tell others about Jesus!