Commemorating Easter #1
Bunnies, chocolate-covered eggs, jellybeans, and parades—what do these all have to do with Easter? Absolutely, nothing! They are man-made symbols that are used to generate money and profit rather than celebrate the real meaning of Easter.
What is Easter?
Easter commemorates Jesus’ resurrection. During this season, we reflect on three important events in Jesus’ life—His death, burial, and resurrection.
Why is it important to commemorate Easter?
It is important to commemorate Easter or Jesus’ resurrection because it is the foundation or bedrock of our Christian faith. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote in response to those in the Corinthians church who were basically claiming that there is no resurrection.
And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. (1 Corinthians 15:16-19, NLT)In Summary…
If there is no resurrection then Jesus is still dead.
If Jesus is still dead then we are still sinners. We are not born again. Born again! What’s that? There is no such thing!
If Jesus is still dead then there is no point in being an Apostolic Christian because the very foundation of our faith hinges on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.
If Jesus is still dead then we deserve pity. Pity is the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others.
If Jesus is still dead then those who have died believing in Him and those who are living for Him will be lost. They will not inherit eternal life—sorry Peter, James, John, Paul, Stephen, and everyone else. Your faith and your suffering were needless. What a waste!
If Jesus is still dead then we have no hope beyond death. Death is the end. That’s it! There is no heaven! There is nothing beyond death!
If Jesus is still dead then there is no gospel or good news to share with others, and what we have been preaching is wrong.
If Jesus is still dead, both the present and the future are dismal. We may as well live today and die tomorrow, throw our hands in the air, and give up. There is nothing to look forward to. There is no hope.
Good News…
Jesus is alive! Christ did in fact rise from the dead.
Now the thought of someone rising from the dead might sound scary or frightening—at least if we think about it from the perspective of the movies we have seen—but for Christians, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is by far the greatest news story ever told. There is nothing scary or frightening about it. As a matter of fact, it is a reason to “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord”—a reason to “…clap our hands and shout unto God with a voice of triumph”—a reason to celebrate!
First Corinthians 15:20-23 explains,
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. (NLT)To be continued…