Easter: The Resurrection

Every Easter, the Easter Bunny would hide Easter Baskets around the house, one for each child. Sometimes, my Easter Basket was hidden so well that I was certain the Easter Bunny had forgotten about me. Some people hunt for Easter Baskets, and some people hunt for Easter Eggs. Nothing says “Resurrection of Jesus” like Eggs made out of chocolate and laid by a bunny.

Try explaining that to somebody unfamiliar with Easter: We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus...by hiding chocolate eggs...laid by a bunny? Perspective can make our traditions seem a bit quirky.

Have you ever noticed that we all respond differently to events? If I have to use the bathroom during the night, step on a Lego, and yell in surprise, I get mad, but Kristy will laugh. If your teen driver gets a speeding ticket, some parents will get mad, and some will laugh.

We have different reactions to almost everything, including the most incredible event in history, the resurrection of Jesus. Some people respond with belief. Some people respond with disbelief. Some people may not care one way or another.

And, in the days of Jesus, many of his followers did not believe he had risen from the dead. They heard the news, they even saw him, but they could not believe Jesus was alive. But something happened that caused them to believe.

You may relate to those who could not believe that Jesus was alive.  Today, we are going to see that you can move from doubt to belief because Jesus is alive.

Luke 24:1-11 (NLT2)
But very early on Sunday morning, 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 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.

“Very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb.”  Now, I don’t know about you, but getting anywhere very early on a Sunday is miraculous in itself, especially if you have kids. It makes sense to me that if anyone ever wanted Jesus to be alive, it would have been the men who followed him for three years.

When somebody you love dies tragically and suddenly, you miss them and want them to be alive. The disciples aren’t any different.  One moment, Jesus was healthy and enjoying dinner with his closest friends; the next moment, he was arrested, beaten, and murdered.

The disciples had seen him work miracles and change lives. They ate with him, learned from him, and saw the hope he brought to people. They wanted Jesus to be alive more than anybody.  Yet, the disciples did not believe that Jesus could be alive.

Verse 11 says, “The story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.”

They didn’t say, “Hooray!”  They said, “No Way.” They thought the women were nuts! They thought the women were spreading make-believe stories or that they were hallucinating. Maybe that’s you, today.  Maybe, when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus…

You do not believe

You believe Jesus existed. You believe he did good things. You believe that Jesus was put to death on the cross. But like the disciples’ early response, you do not believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Let me say I am so glad you are here today!

You don’t believe Jesus is alive, but you love somebody enough that you decided to make them happy by finally giving in to their nagging – I mean, invitation— and you came to church with them. And maybe, like the early followers of Jesus, today you will change your mind.

You can move from doubt to belief because Jesus is alive. The disciples moved from “refusing to believe” to fully believing in Jesus, and later every single one of them would believe Jesus was alive so hard, they were killed for their belief. So, how did they get there? Well, between verses 12 and 36, Jesus made a couple of appearances.

In verse 13, Jesus appeared to a couple of his disciples as they walked down a road…

In verse 34, he appeared to Peter. And the disciples got together and talked about it.

“Jesus appeared to me.”  “Me too!” “We had an entire conversation with him…”

Luke 24:36-41A (NLT2)
36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 37 But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! 38 “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? 39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” 40 As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder…

When Jesus said, “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?” Why are you deliberating with yourself? Why are you questioning what is true?

The disciples wanted to believe that the man standing in front of them was indeed Jesus, but they were torn by what they saw happen to Jesus at the cross. Nobody wanted Jesus to be alive more than them, so their resistance to believe the truth that Jesus was alive highlights the horrible way they watched him die. The Disciples watched the physical brutality of the cross.

They saw his dead body. They saw the scourging, the beating, the crown of thorns, the spear in his side, the nails in his hands and his feet…they saw him breathe his last breaths. They heard him say, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. It is finished.”

They knew death could not be reversed.  Not after three days.  They knew NO MAN was going to come back from that.

If you have heard the message that Jesus is ALIVE over and over yet walk away with doubt, understand these men did, too. They wanted to believe, but they just couldn't because of what they had already seen.

Is that you?

Maybe…

You want to believe

Maybe you went to school with somebody who was a lot like me in High School.  A jerk.  An idiot.  To some – a bully.  To others – wild.  But – at your High School reunion, they had changed. They told you that they had started going to church, their wild days (for the most part) were behind them, and that they now believed in Jesus.

And maybe, you want to believe in Jesus…Maybe you just can’t get there.

Luke 24:45-47 (NLT2) 45  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46  And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47  It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’

The disciples finally fully believed because spiritually, Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures. You cannot force belief. God has to open your mind. But the truth is…as you sit here this Easter Weekend…

You can believe

You can believe.  You can move from doubt to belief because Jesus is alive. Jesus opened their minds, and they finally understood the words he said.

John 3:16 (NLT2)
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Right now… something is happening in you. Maybe today, God has opened your mind.  Something has clicked, and you understand how much God loves you. In verse 47, Jesus said, “There is forgiveness of sin for all who repent.”

Repeat after me.

“There is forgiveness of sin” (There is forgiveness of sin)

“for all who repent.”  (For all who repent.)

The word that Jesus used for “repent” communicates change in thinking. The Disciples SHIFTED their thoughts about Jesus. This was the moment they put their DISBELIEF behind them—they chose to believe that Jesus was alive and that he had died for their sins, and they fully believed by surrendering their lives to him through repentance.

To believe – you, too, must have that SHIFT in your thinking. If you would like to believe, be forgiven for your sins, and become a follower of Jesus today, pray this with me:

God, I believe that Jesus suffered for my sin on the cross, died, and is alive. Thank you for forgiving my sin. I turn from my sin, and I surrender to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Let’s keep loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.