Holy Week Easter Sunday

After the death of Jesus, the religious leaders who had crucified him began to recall his words. They remembered Jesus saying that he would be raised back to life on the third day. They visited Pilate and requested that the tomb be sealed and guarded. They claimed that his disciples would come and steal the body and deceive the population further.

Pilate consented and the religious leaders placed a seal on the tomb and placed a guard to make sure the body would not be taken. (Matthew 27)

Early on Sunday morning as the sun was rising, Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb to anoint the body. An angel came and rolled away the stone causing an earthquake and sat upon the stone. The glory of the angel caused the guards to tremble and faint in fear.

The angel said to to the women, "Don't be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus. He is not dead. Go tell his disciples that he is alive and he will come to them."

The guards went to the religious leaders and told them all that had happened. The priests bribed the guards and told them to say that the disciples came and took the body while they were sleeping. And their report spread throughout Israel. (Matthew 28)

The religious leaders had witnessed many miracles of Jesus and heard his words. But even faced with overwhelming evidence that he was in fact their long awaited Messiah, they still persisted in rejecting him. The truth was right in front of them. But instead, as Jesus had said, their spiritual father was the father of lies. And so yet again, they yielded to the control of Satan, and continued to deny their Savior and God and spread lies about what had happened. But God's Word is truth. And this truth overcomes all the power of the enemy.

Mark tells us that early in the morning Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Salome purchased spices to anoint the body. As they made their way to the tomb, they were worried that they could not roll the stone away to reach Jesus' body.

When they reached the tomb, they found it opened. Inside, an angel, clothed in a brilliant white robe, was sitting where Jesus had been. He said to them, "Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus. He is not here. He has risen. See where they laid him."

The angel continued, "Go tell the disciples, and Peter, that they will see Jesus in Galilee as he said."

The women fled, surprised by all they had seen and heard. (Mark 16:1-8)

Some have speculated that the stone was rolled away to let Jesus out of the tomb. As a reborn, recreated man, no rock could stop Jesus. The stone was removed to let men know that he had risen. Remember, these were still spiritually dead men and women. All their knowledge came through their five senses. That is why they so struggled to understand the message of the resurrection until they were reborn and filled with the Holy Spirit. At that point, they had access to spiritual revelation and an even greater understanding of redemption as we see in Paul's letters.

Note how each of the Gospel accounts show that the disciples never believed that Jesus would come back. This is why they struggled so much at first. Their lack of faith was so strong that sometimes they did not even recognize him when he stood in front of them! (John 20:14-17) One of the reasons I so enjoy the Bible is that it does not sugarcoat anything. You see the good, bad and ugly of humanity. These are accurate accounts of people reacting as you would expect them to act. Had this all been a big fabrication, the Gospels would have shown all the disciples sitting expectantly at the tomb on the morning of the third day. But we don't see that. We see unbelief, fear, doubt and sadness in all the accounts. We see some people demanding proof and others simply hiding in fear for what might happen to them.

I want to point out another wonderful thing about Jesus and his love. A few days earlier, Peter had denied Jesus not once, but three times. He had wept bitterly over this betrayal and you know it weighed heavily on him as he watched Jesus die on the cross. The angel makes a point to single out Peter from the other disciples. Later, Christ himself, in a moment of incredible tenderness, asks Peter three times if he loved him. This little interchange was no coincidence. This was Jesus letting Peter know that it was time to forget the past and move forward to a glorious future. (John 21)

The Gospel accounts differ as to exactly which women came to the tomb that Easter morning. But they all agree that Mary Magdalene was there. Mary had been a loyal follower and supporter of Jesus' ministry since he had cast seven demons out of her. (Mark 16:9 & Luke 8:2) Being oppressed or possessed by one demonic spirit is bad enough. Having seven tormenting spirits removed from your life makes her devotion much easier to understand.

From John's account (an eyewitness), Mary arrives at the tomb early in the morning while it is still dark. The stone has already been removed and she looks in the tomb and sees that the body of Jesus is gone. She runs to get Peter and John and tells them that, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb!" The two disciples race to the tomb with John arriving first, but stopping at the entrance. Then Peter arrives and goes into the tomb followed by John. They both see the burial clothes lying exactly where Jesus' body had been.

It is interesting that up to this point, they were still thinking that the body had been removed by men. Notice Mary's statement in John 20:2 about someone taking the body. But when the disciples see the empty tomb and the linen cloth, they start remembering the words of Jesus.

The disciples return home, but Mary remains at the tomb crying. She leans into the tomb and sees two angels sitting at the head and feet of where Jesus had been lying. They ask her why she is crying and she says that they have taken away my Lord and I don't know what they have done with him. Notice she is still thinking its a grave robbery.

While this exchange was happening, Jesus stood behind her, but she did not recognize him. He asks the same question and gets virtually the same reply. And then Jesus says, "Mary." At this point, Mary recognizes Jesus and clings to him. Jesus replies, "Do not hold on to me. I haven't yet ascended to my Father and your Father." Mary would run to the disciples and tell them that she had seen Jesus and report to them what Jesus said to her. (John 20)

Jesus was a man with the same emotions as us. He cried at the tomb of Lazarus. (John 11) You have to know that seeing Mary overcome with grief moved him greatly. But the question remained, why was Mary crying. Jesus is alive! Those tears of sorrow quickly turned to tears of joy when she finally recognized her Savior.

Jesus told Mary not to cling to him. There was one final step of the redemption story. As Paul, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, tells us:

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood-not the blood of goats and calves-he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. (Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT)

When the High Priest offered Jesus on the cross, it was his last act. The veil to the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. The sacrifices and priestly duties were no longer necessary. They had been shadows and types of what Jesus would ultimately accomplish.

Heaven forbid you regard Jesus as just a martyr. He paid the the full penalty for your salvation. You must renew your mind to this truth. You are redeemed from the entire curse by faith in what Jesus has done. He is your High Priest forever. Righteousness, or right standing with God, is a gift received by faith - believing in your heart what God said is true over any feelings and opinions. Do not cheapen the work of Jesus by assuming you have to earn your salvation. The only sacrifice necessary now is the sacrifice of praise. The only law is the Law of Love.

The glory (the presence of God) that was lost by Adam and Eve when they sinned, is now available to you. You can boldly enter into the presence of God without fear as a child approaches his parents. You can fellowship daily with the Creator of the universe and access His wisdom and power - which is exactly what God desires. And if you do step out of love, you have heavenly legal representation, your advocate Jesus, that will wipe that sin away when you repent.

Hallelujah!

That afternoon two disciples (Luke names one as Cleopas) were walking to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were discussing all the events that had been reported about Jesus. Suddenly, Jesus joined them on the road, but they did not recognize him. Jesus asked them what they were discussing and they were surprised that he was not aware of the events surrounding Jesus' death.

Jesus asked them to share what they knew. They told him about the arrest and crucifixion. And they mentioned the reports from the women who had seen angels that morning who reported that Jesus was alive.

Starting at the very beginning, Jesus began quoting scriptures and showing them from the Word that everything that happened to him was part of God's divine plan. By this time they were nearing their home, but Jesus intended to keep going. They asked him to stay with them since it was almost night. After sitting at the table, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and gave it to them. At that moment, they finally recognized him. Immediately, he vanished before their eyes. They said to each other, "Were not our hearts on fire as he explained the scriptures to us?"

They immediately returned to Jerusalem and told the disciples that they had seen Jesus. (Mark 16 & Luke 24)

We do not have a record of all that Jesus explained to them, but it isn't hard to figure out. The entire Old Testament is shadows and types of Jesus. Everything points to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here are a few examples:

In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sin, God sacrifices animals (spilling blood) to make clothes to cover them after God's glory is removed leaving them naked. (Genesis 3; Leviticus 17:11-12; Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9 & 10; 1 Peter 1:18-25; 1 John 1)

God makes a blood covenant with Abraham and to prove that Abraham could perform his side of the covenant, He requires Abraham to sacrifice his promised son. Abraham obeys until the very last second when God stops him. His faithful obedience opens the door for God to send His son, Jesus. One of the most prophetic statements in the Bible can be seen in Gensis 22:8, when Abraham declared that God would provide himself a lamb. (Genesis 15, 22; Romans 4; Galatians 3; Hebrews 11; James 2)

Moses casts down his rod in front of Pharaoh and it turns into a snake. The magicians in the court cast down their rods and they also turn into snakes. But the rod of Moses swallows the other snakes. When done, it returns to Moses' side. Just as Jesus would become sin, to destroy sin, before ascending to God's side. (Exodus 7; Isaiah 11:1-5; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3)

In Egypt, Pharaoh's stubborn refusal to release the Jews after several plagues, each worse than the last, brings the ultimate judgment on his country. The first born will die. In order to protect the Jews, each family sacrifices a lamb and applies the blood to their doorway. The blood will protect them from harm. In the same way, the blood of Jesus, our Lamb of God, cleanses us from unrighteousness and protects us from the evil one. (Exodus 7-13; Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Peter 1:18-25; 1 John 1:7)

In the desert, the Children of Israel receive the Law and the priesthood is initiated. An elaborate system of sacrifices is created, including the all important atonement sacrifice that included two animals - a lamb that was slain and a scapegoat that carried the people's sins into the wilderness. This foreshadowed Jesus' two deaths - physically on the cross and the three days his spirit was in hell (spiritual death or separation from God) to suffer the sin punishment and satisfy eternal justice. You needed both animals for the complete sacrifice, just as Jesus needed both "deaths" to complete his sacrifice. (Leviticus 16; Acts 2:14-36; Ephesians 2:1-10; Hebrews 9) -- Space limitations prevent a thorough discussion of this vital issue. You are a spirit, with a soul (mind, will & emotions), living in a body. The spirit never dies. Spiritual death is being separated from God. Jesus was reborn spiritually first, and then physically second. The spiritual rebirth is what Christians receive by believing in Jesus. Eternal life is for both now, and later when your spirit lives eternally with the Father after physical death, or the return of Jesus.

In the wilderness, the Jews continually complained, bringing judgment on themselves in the form of fiery serpents that bit them and killed some. God instructed Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and place it on a pole. All who looked at the bronze serpent would be healed. In a similar fashion, Jesus was lifted up on the cross and suffered all sin and sickness for mankind. All that believe in him, are made whole spiritually and physically. (Numbers 21; John 3:14-15, 12:30-33; Romans 8; Hebrews 2)

You can find shadows and types of Jesus in every book of the Old Testament. He was the red rope hanging from Rahab's window that saved her family. (Joshua 2 & 6) He was Ruth's family redeemer. (Ruth) Also, there are many direct and indirect prophecies of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus including: Psalm 2, 16, 22, 68, 69, 88, 110, 118; Isaiah 9, 11, 53, 59, 63; Jeremiah 23; Micah 5; Zechariah 3, 9, 13; Malachi 3.

Jesus and the Word are one and the same. (John 1) When you spend time reading and meditating on the Word, you are spending time with Christ. The more time you spend in the Word, the more real it will be to you. You will begin to experience what Cleopas and his friend experienced. The Word will come alive to you. It will be wisdom when you need it and provide faith to overcome every obstacle you face.

Think of it this way, if you really love somebody; you want to spend time with them. If you truly love God, you will study His Word. You will walk the dusty streets of Jerusalem with Jesus. You will sail the Mediterranean with Paul, take the Gospel to Cornelius with Peter, build the Temple with Solomon, slay the giant with David and spend a peaceful night praising God with Daniel in the lion's den. You will see how much God loves you and see the glorious future God has planned for you in His Word.

After the crucifixion, the disciples hid in fear. They had witnessed their friend and teacher, Jesus, brutally killed and they were afraid the religious leaders would come for them next. As they began to receive reports from the women, and then saw the empty tomb, the fear evolved into wonder and confusion. They were discussing the events on the evening of that first day behind locked doors, when Jesus appeared in their midst.

He said, "Peace to you."

That was exactly the opposite of what they were experiencing. Fear and anxiety were the order of the day. But Jesus declared "Peace!" He showed them his hands and the wound in his side. He assured them it was really him. And then he said something interesting.

"Touch me. A spirit does not have flesh and bones." (Luke 24)

The disciples assumed he was a ghost. But he was a spiritually reborn man with a raised body. Notice that he said flesh and bones, not flesh and blood. He had given his blood for the sacrifice, and his new body did not require blood anymore. He was a recreated man, with unlimited power. He could come and go as he pleased and no locked doors, or giant rock could prevent his entry or exit.

Jesus then explained the meaning of his death and resurrection and encouraged them. Remember, they were not born again yet. That would happen at Pentecost. They would struggle with understanding the message until they were spiritually reborn. You can see that plainly by their fear, and in Acts, where instead of asking God who should replace Judas, they cast lots! (Acts 1) Games of chance are not the actions of believers being led by the Holy Spirit. Not to mention their queries about when the kingdom would be restored and their own acknowledgment that they believed when the Holy Spirit came upon them. (Acts 1:6, 11:16-17)

But when the Holy Spirit did arrive, Katy bar the door! The anointing of God came on them and they preached a sermon so powerful that 3,000 people were saved in one day. (Acts 2) Satan ran roughshod over man before Jesus came. But he could not do anything to Jesus. Now, there is an ever expanding number of disciples, preaching with power, authority and healing the sick in the name of Jesus. Satan's reign of terror is over! (Psalm 103:1-5; Matthew 18:18, 28:16-20; Mark 16:17-18; John 10:10, 14:30, 16; Romans 5:17; Ephesians 1:12-23, 2, 6:10-17; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:8-15; Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 12:11)

Thomas was not with the disciples when they first saw Jesus. They told him that they had seen the Lord, but he would not accept their testimony. He boldly said, "Unless I see the nail prints in his hands, and touch the wound on his side, I will not believe."

Eight days later all the disciples were together, including Thomas. Jesus appeared to them again. Addressing Thomas directly, Jesus said, "See my hands and place your hand on my side. Don't doubt any longer, believe!"

Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and My God!"

Jesus replied, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those that have not seen, but believe anyway." (John 20)

Many sermons have been preached on "doubting Thomas." And they are largely negative, designed to warn us about unbelief. But consider another angle. Thomas and the disciples were still spiritually dead. The new birth was not available until the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The only way he could believe was through his senses - sight, touch, smell, taste and sound. He had valid doubts and voiced them. But what you think and say can get you in trouble. The statement made by Thomas was that he would NOT believe UNLESS he saw and touched Jesus. He was almost "snared by the words of his mouth." (Proverbs 6:2) What if Jesus had already ascended? He would not have been able to touch Jesus.

By this statement, he was putting his own salvation at risk. But Jesus was merciful. He appeared to Thomas and fully answered his request by showing him the scars on his hands and the wound on his side. And then he encouraged Thomas to believe. It is our faith that pleases God. (Hebrews 11:6)

Jesus would ascend back to the Father so that the Holy Spirit could be released on the earth. After Pentecost, we don't need to see a physical Jesus. We can fellowship with him every day through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that abides in all believers. We also have his Word available to us to read and study. Remember, Jesus and his Word are one and the same. (John 1) Jesus was limited by his physical body, but the Holy Spirit can be inside every believer on the planet.

Words are powerful. In Genesis, man was given dominion over the earth. He was to rule by the words of his mouth. When man fell, he lost control of his tongue and the devil was able to influence his words. After Jesus' resurrection, we have the ability to "switch teams" and be reborn with a new nature, speaking words of life instead of death, faith instead of fear.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many passages pertaining to words, what you speak and the tongue in the Bible? It is because what you believe and say can be quite powerful. In Numbers, God told His people that whatever they said would happen. They started saying that Moses brought them to the wilderness to die. And just as they had spoke, snakes appeared in the camp and starting biting people, even killing a few. Moses interceded and stopped the deadly snake attack. (Numbers 14:28; 21) They were snared by their words.

You have a choice to release faith or fear with the words you speak. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith is released by speaking the Word. Study the life of Jesus and see how words of faith, released by Jesus, and those that he ministered to, worked together to bring about tremendous miracles.

As Jesus and James, the brother of Jesus, both said, let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Anything else may open the door to evil. (Matthew 5:37; James 5:12) Don't be a doubter and don't get snared by rash statements, vows or promises made in the heat of the moment. Your tongue can get you into trouble, if you do not let your spirit control it. (James 3) As Jesus told Thomas,

"Don't doubt any longer, believe!"

"Blessed (or empowered to prosper) are those that believe without seeing!"

In simple terms, what does Easter mean? - Wow! You could write volumes on this question. In fact, they have written a very long book called the Bible on this very subject. ;->

As I was meditating on this question, searching for a simple way of explaining the plan and purpose of Easter, this came to me.

Imagine your child was found guilty of a crime and is facing a lifetime of separation from you. Wouldn't you do everything legally possible to set him free, even including suffering the punishment for him if possible? That is definitely what love would do and God IS love. He is your Heavenly Father and knows that no man can pay the price for sin. That is why He sent himself, Jesus, to pay the penalty and set you free.

Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God. They were connected spiritually to God who is a spiritual being. God is perfect in every way. But with that perfection comes judgment. That is why when Adam and Eve sinned, He had to treat them differently in order to protect them. Sin cannot live in the presence of God. Because of that first sin, all humanity was cut off spiritually from God's love. It doesn't matter how good you think you might be, you are still far from perfection - but it is not your fault. That is what makes God so wonderful. He knows that there is nothing you can do to change your spiritual nature - it is simply who you are. That is why He sent Jesus to pay the price for all humanity. Your acceptance of Jesus as your Savior, allows you to be spiritually reborn and reconnected to God's most wonderful presence and love. You become part of the eternal family with all the benefits inherited immediately.

Christianity is not a religion. Religion is ceremonies, dogma and everything man tries to do to impress God, or earn favor. Christianity is fellowship with the Creator of the universe. Favor and Blessing are the benefits of fellowship, along with wisdom, love, joy, divine health, prosperity and peace.

Jesus did all the work for you. You simply accept that he paid the price for you, receiving by faith (trusting God's Word in your heart above feelings and man's opinions) and proclaiming that Jesus is the Lord of your life. At that moment, you are a new creation, spiritually reborn into God's family. The glory that clothed Adam and Eve before the fall becomes available to you. You can boldly enter God's throne room and have an audience with your omnipotent, omniscient, Heavenly Father.

You can, and should, celebrate Easter every day. Jesus is alive! That is reason enough to praise God every morning!

What was accomplished by the resurrection of Jesus? - God wants fellowship. He is your Heavenly Father and desires to have a relationship with you. In a fallen, sinful state, He cannot have the fellowship He craves with people. Jesus came to pay the full penalty of sin, making a way for every believer to be born again into God's family. This is called righteousness, or right standing with God. It is a spiritual rebirth that removes the sinful nature from you and allows fellowship to take place. And it also provides a means to maintain that fellowship if you step out of love and sin.

These may be difficult concepts to understand. I encourage you to read the following excerpts out loud and then look them up in your Bible or online. These are the cornerstone to understanding what Jesus accomplished that first Easter.

What joy it is that my rebellion is forgiven and my sin removed from sight. The Lord has cleared my record of sin! All my guilt is gone! (Psalm 32:1-2)

God forgives all my sins and heals my diseases. He surrounds me with love. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle's! He has removed my rebellious acts as far away as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:3-4, 12)

(God speaking to you) No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. Even if you were stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

That was Old Testament prophets looking forward to true redemption. The sacrifices under the old covenant merely covered their sins and did not remove the sinful nature - they were still spiritually dead people.

But notice the language change after resurrection:

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
(Romans 6:5-11 NLT)

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. (Romans 8:1-2 NLT)

He (Jesus) personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds. (1 Peter 2:24 NLT)

Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18 NLT)

Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some Reading Suggestions For Easter Sunday:
Roxie's Big News - A children's story about a dove that announces the Resurrection of Jesus. Includes a companion lesson.
A Whispering Pines Easter - A cat named Boris and his friends celebrate Easter. This Easter Sunday story is part of the Boris Kitty series.
Heaven's Art Gallery - A powerful short story about the transforming power of Jesus in your life.
Easter Sermons and Stories - Links to additional children's stories, sermons and other resources.

For additional Easter Sunday resources