Easter Sunday: March 31, 2024

Holy Trinity Church – Tom Mount

 

Scripture reading: Acts 1:1-11

Introduction

  • For 2000 years, Christians have been celebrating Easter
  • Today, we will consider: 1) What Easter is about, set within the context of salvation history, and 2) Why it matters to you (three reasons).

What is it about? The role of Easter in salvation history

  • The triune God—Father, Son and Spirit—made humanity to “re-present” God to the world and rule over it on his behalf (Gen 1:26-28).
  • The original human pair—Adam and Eve—were deceived by a malevolent being and tried to “go it alone,” coming out from under God’s protective authority (Gen 3).
  • Out of his overflowing love and compassion, God launched a rescue mission. It involved the formation of a distinct people group (Israel) to preserve God’s sacred texts and serve as the cultural seedbed for raising up a worldwide Savior that God would send “in the fullness of time” (Gal 4:4)
  • God the Son took on human flesh and entered human history in the man Jesus, son of Joseph. Jesus came to make it possible for sinful humanity to be reconciled to God and to reestablish men and women as God’s co-regents over the earth.
  • During his 3 ½ year ministry, Jesus went throughout Israel, teaching about the kingdom of God, healing, delivering the demon possessed and doing other miracles.
  • Jesus was rejected by the Jewish leaders, brutally tortured and murdered through Roman crucifixion. All of this was predicted by the Old Testament and by Jesus himself.
  • His body was laid in a tomb while his spirit descended to the realm of the righteous dead (sheol). There he comforted those who had died before him trusting in God.
  • On the third day, as he predicted, his spirit was resurrected from sheol and was rejoined to his body, which was transformed into a glorious, powerful, immortal body (1 Cor 15).
  • For the next forty days, he spent time with his followers and family members on multiple occasions, teaching them about “the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).
  • At the end of this forty-day period, he ascended to heaven to be coronated King of kings and sit in the place of absolute authority until he returns to the earth to establish his earthly reign.
  • A week after his ascension, he sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower his people to live out the kingdom of God during this inter-advental period.
  • Upon Jesus’ final return, he will raise everyone from the dead for final judgment and set everything right. He will cleanse and restore the cosmos to its original beauty and goodness. And his people will reign with him and God the Father on a renewed earth forever!
  • Summary: Easter is the celebration of the beginning of this cosmic transformation, which entails the glorious renewal of the whole earth!
    • Began inconspicuously: with the physical body of Jesus on Easter Day
    • Then it extends to the spirits of his followers as we are born from above
    • Then it extends to the transfiguration of our bodies when Jesus returns
    • Finally, it extends to every part of the created realm

What does Easter matter to you?

  • It means you no longer need to fear death. Jesus’ resurrection means that Jesus mastered death. Hebrews 2:14-15: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
  • It means you really can live a qualitatively better life both now and in the future. Jesus’ resurrection means that your spirit can be resurrected and experience intimate fellowship with God in this life, endowed with capacities you otherwise wouldn’t have: power to resist sin, love others, be full of joy, peace, patience, and other character qualities. It also means that, when Jesus returns, you will receive a new, glorious body like his own. Colossians 3:1-4: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
  • It means you can fully put your trust in Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection proved that he was telling the truth about his identity and message. John 10:37-38: 37 ”Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” You can bank on all of his promises to love, guide, protect and bless you in this life and the life to come.