Easter is the most important holiday of the whole year for Christians. Jesus–the Son of God–was arrested, tortured, falsely convicted, and executed on a cross. His body was hastily placed in a borrowed tomb, but on the third day, Jesus rose to life. This is the foundation of everything for Christians.
I want you to know, I believe in the resurrection. I know Jesus is not dead. I believe He literally got up out of the grave--a bodily resurrection. It's not just a great story or an ideal to live up to. I believe it really happened and it's the Truth I base my life on.
I
hope you believe too. But if we really believe Jesus rose from the grave, it will change the way we think and live. That’s what I want to talk to you about today.
1 But very early on Sunday morning[a] the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.
5 The women were
terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why
are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He
isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in
Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man[b] must be betrayed into
the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the
third day.”
8 Then they remembered
that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to
tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It
was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women
who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story
sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However,
Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the
empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
The women found an empty tomb. The stone was rolled away. The body of Christ was gone.
Luke says, “Two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.” These are clearly not men, but angels. They resemble the angels Luke says appeared in heavenly glory at Jesus’ birth. They also resemble Acts 1:10, where Luke also says “two men dressed in white” appeared when Jesus ascended to heaven
I also can’t help but think about the two cherubim God stationed at the entrance of the Garden of Eden. Remember, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit and where kicked out of the Garden of Eden, God stationed two angelic figures (Cherubim) to guard the entrance so no one could re-enter. Those two cherubim were later represented by the golden cherubim atop the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was considered by Jews to be the holiest place on earth and the very footstool of God. But now 2 angels appear to the women at the empty tomb and say something incredible.
So the women had to wait until Sunday morning to come finish the burial ceremony. As they approached the tomb, their thinking was completely focused on a dead Jesus, which was totally understandable. The reality of what they found was so implausible, they couldn’t immediately comprehend the truth. Their earthly minds struggled to make sense of it with the most reasonable explanations: Someone has moved or stolen the body. The authorities must have moved the body.
God knew resurrection would be so far from their thinking they would need help to see the truth. So, God sent His angels to explain: “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!”
Some people today still struggle to accept the resurrection. A dead man coming back to life is incredible (in the literal sense of that word–not credible). The entire history of human experience as well as modern science cries out as a witness that dead people do not come back to life–not in the way the Gospels describe Jesus’ resurrection. And so many people cannot make the leap of faith to conclude Jesus rose from the grave as He said He would and as the earliest witnesses and the Bible say He did.
So, many people still look for Jesus among the dead. What I mean is, they cannot accept that He really, literally rose from the grave and so they try to spiritualize the resurrection. Maybe they see Christ rising from the grave as a symbol of hope, or a fresh start, or spiritual renewal—but not as a real resurrection that changes everything about how we live and think. For them, the resurrection has “some” meaning, but they are still looking for the living among the dead—holding onto the idea of Jesus, while missing the reality that He is alive.
They
want to find value in the Christian story—and in Jesus as an important
religious figure—
without really believing the fundamental claim of Christ. But if Jesus did not really rise, then the faith He gave us falls apart. It’s
not just weakened—it’s false.
The
Apostle Paul said it plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:14: “If Christ has not been raised, our
preaching is useless and so is your faith.” And he goes even further in 1 Corinthians 15:17: “If Christ has not been raised, your
faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
On the other hand, there are many Christians who do believe Jesus truly rose from the grave, yet that reality has not fully transformed the way they think and live. They still turn to the dead things of this world, hoping to find the life and fulfillment that only the risen Christ can give.
They believe in the resurrection, but still look for life in success, in comfort, in possessions—thinking if they just had a little more, they would finally feel full.
They believe in the resurrection, but still look for life in approval, in relationships, in what others think of them—hoping someone else can give them the worth Christ already secured.
They believe in the resurrection, but still look for life in routine religion—going through the motions without truly setting their hearts on Christ.
They
believe in the resurrection, but still look for life in distractions—keeping
busy, staying entertained, avoiding stillness—because they’re not drawing from
the life that is already theirs in Christ.
They
believe Jesus is alive, but still live as if this world is where life is found.
They believe in the resurrection, but they haven’t yet learned to think like people who have been raised with Christ and live like people who have nothing to lose because Christ already won the ultimate victory.
But that’s exactly what the resurrection offers us–a whole new way to think and a whole new way to live. Paul said it like this in Colossians 3, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ… set your sights on the realities of heaven.”
Not someday you will be raised, but you have been raised. That means the life you’re looking for is not found in the dead things of this world. It’s found in a living Savior.
So stop looking for life where there is none. Stop searching among the dead, and start following the One who walked out of the grave. Lift up your eyes! Set your heart on Him! Because Jesus is not in the tomb! He is alive!
And if He lives then real life is found in Him. Not later. Not someday. But right now! So, let’s stop looking for the living among the dead. And let’s stand together and celebrate the victory we have in Jesus, because He lives.
Closing
Invitation
I want to give you this invitation. Maybe you need to make a decision today. Maybe you want to start following this Jesus who walked out of the grave. You don’t have to understand. The
resurrection isn’t logical. It doesn’t
make sense. It doesn’t follow the laws of nature. But if God is real and Jesus is His Son, is anything impossible with God? Maybe today, you just need to choose to have faith in God and His Son. For then you will find, not just belief,
but life. Life that is real. Life that is
full. Life that is eternal.
So, stop looking for the living among the dead. Come to the One who is alive. Close your eyes. Tell God you believe, and ask Him to save you and give you new life in Christ.
