Easter Sunday (2)

Mark 15:22–26 NIV

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

Sidebar - when they offered Jesus wine mixed with Myrrh, that was a pain reliever. It was customary of the Romans to offer that to a crucified person.

Matthew 27:39–43 NIV

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

Let’s set the scene

They drag him off to this place called Golgotha

They crucify him. The soldiers take his clothes, and cast lots to see who gets to keep what

As he’s hanging there, people are hurling insults at him.

Matthew 27:45–46 NIV

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

Now, I’ve heard people say, ‘this was jesus being abandoned by God, because of all the sins.’ And maybe that’s true, maybe it’s not.

But what IS true, is that Jesus is quoting Psalm 22. And tell me if parts of this sound familiar.

Psalm 22:7–10 NIV

All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

OR

Psalm 22:16–18 NIV

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

And this psalm ends on a REALLY high note.

Psalm 22:26–31 NIV

The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Jesus is remind the people - that

They have no idea what’s really going on - or what’s about to happen.

The psalmist here talked about a time in the future, where the entire earth would be able to turn back to the Lord. And not about judgment - about celebration. That the poor and rich alike can feast.

That Everyone would recognize that God is Lord and King.

Both the living and the dead would recognize God as supreme. And all future generations will have access to this.

Because the truth is,

Jesus did something for everyone, everywhere

His death on the cross is not just some historical event that happened 2,000 years ago. It matters today. It makes a difference for us every day.

So let’s continue the story.

Matthew 27:50–54 NIV

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Heaven and Earth are shaking

See, in this moment, you see heaven and earth itself are shaking.

Dead being raised to life.

Temple curtain being torn in two

This wasn’t some sad time, where people just shed a tear because their friend had died. There was chaos, and darkness, and power. Something big was happening.

Matthew 28:1–7 NIV

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

The Cross was the turning point for death. The Resurrection was the turning point for life.

In the cross, we found total and complete forgiveness for sin. We faced judgment, we faced condemnation - but in the cross, God paid every debt.

But in the resurrection, we find a new kind of life. Rather than grinding away at our day to day hassles - God gives us an eternity.

Even though we face death - in the resurrection, we know that death isn’t the end.

That’s not the end of this story.

Easter normally ends here. But the point of easter isn’t in the death and the resurrection - it’s in the why.

Matthew 28:16–20 NIV

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In Easter, we tell the story of Jesus, God made flesh, the messiah, who went to the grave so we didn’t have to.

Who was resurrected to life as the first of many people to show what this new life really was.

He has given us a completely new path, one that ends in a perfect eternity. And the last thing he does in the flesh, before he goes back to heaven is this -

He commands us to go and bring others into the kingdom

Jesus reminds us, he holds the full and total authority in heaven and on earth. And he tells us - go and make disciples. Go and teach people more about this. Bring more people into the kingdom.

This is a command, and a goal, for every single one of us. Everywhere. At all times. From the beginning of our lives until the end. Every person who has a relationship with God is called to go out and talk to other people about it.

In 40 days, we celebrate this thing we called Pentecost. It’s a story in Acts about God sending the Holy Spirit in power to help the early church fulfill this great comission.

We invite you to join with us to

Pray over the next 40 days that the Holy Spirit would send His power to build His kingdom

And we’ll do more than just make an invite in the coming weeks. But we wanted to plant this seed today.

Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23–25 NIV

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”