The Reason We Celebrate Easter
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
This past week we celebrated Easter Service together as God’s family. The church service was very memorable, with many of our family and friends there with us. The charge from the scriptures was to consider deeply what Easter means, what it cost for us to even have the resurrection as something to celebrate about. The cost was Jesus Christ suffering a brutal death and a lonely, cold burial. There were no eulogies given at Christ’s “funeral.” The men who were his best friends and closest companions during the times of his life and ministry were nowhere to be found. Their hopes were dashed with his death on the cross and everything that they had dreamed about through Jesus they thought was over. Defeated, they went back to their old lives (John 21:1-5) , because - like many of us - they were too stubborn to believe what others had seen and what Jesus had said (Mark 16:9-14, Luke 24:36-48).
Jesus made sure the apostles knew he had really risen and not a “ghost” or incorporeal - but with flesh and bones. To make this point clear, Jesus did what any man would do after going through a tough ordeal…he ate! (Luke 24:40-43) We have to ask ourselves, why did Jesus do it? What motivated him to go through this brutal death, this lonely burial, and even the resurrection? It is impossible to sense the true power in the resurrection if we leave out what Jesus went through in being nailed to the cross. These days, it is so easy to get caught up in chocolate bunnies, eggs, and a new set of clothes. The real test is asking your children, without any prompting, “Why do we celebrate Easter?” Interestingly enough, the icons of modern Easter (Bunnies and Eggs and such) have various meanings depending on which historian you consult, but all historians agree that the roots to these symbols are pagan. Easter certainly can’t be about that.
The lingering question is still “why did Jesus do what He did?” Why did He suffer the intense death of crucifixion, the lonely burial, and even being raised again? What does Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection have to do with us? With Easter? The scriptures teach us that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are something we actually participate in during our baptism in His Name. (Romans 6:1-7) The scriptures also teach us that baptism in Jesus’ name is for the forgiveness of our sins - Acts 2:38. We all know that Jesus “died for our sins,” but do we realize that He died, was buried in the tomb, and raised again so that we too could die, be buried, and raised again to a new life with him in Baptism (Romans 6:3-7)? What does it take to participate in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection? We see from Acts 2:36-41 that it takes faith with the conviction that Jesus is LORD and, that we, through our sins (1 Peter 2:24), put him to death on the cross (Acts 2:36-37). It also takes a repentant heart, and a willingness - through our faith in the power of God - to participate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:12) Romans 6:1-7 teaches us that baptism is when we participate with Jesus in His death, dying to our sins and therefore are freed from them. Can someone be right with God and still be enslaved to their sin? (John 8:31-32, John 8:34-36)
It makes sense that Jesus would command his disciples to go out and “make disciples of all nations,” “baptizing them,” and then teaching “them to obey” everything that he commanded them. (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus wants all men to have the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sins, because if we do not die to our sins through faith at baptism, and the dead are not raised, then we “are to be pitied more than all men.” (I Corinthians 15:3-8, I Corinthians 15:12-19) This is because the scriptures teach us that we have forgiveness of sins and new life in Christ through baptism (Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21, Romans 6:4). The fact that baptism for the remission of sins is our participation in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection explains why a few people in the Gospels did not get baptized and yet were forgiven of sins - such as the famous repentant thief on the cross next to Jesus (Luke 23:39-42). It made no sense to baptize someone in the name of Jesus like this since Jesus had not yet died, been buried, nor rose again from the dead.
The repentant, baptized disciple of Jesus has a powerful reason to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection - because through their faith it enabled their own rebirth into Christ and His Kingdom (John 3:1-7) and the forgiveness of all their sins! That is exciting enough to deeply consider in this life - but what about our own death? We all will die physically, and literally be buried in our own “tomb.” What then? If Jesus went through his death, burial and resurrection - so we could participate with him in it through our faith, what about when our physical bodies die? Well, for a faithful, baptized, disciple - there is the fact of their death, burial, and resurrection to reign with Jesus, and not just their resurrection to judgment. A shocking truth to some, the bible actually teaches that we all, no matter how we lived or died, will be raised from the dead!
Jesus refuted the Sadducees - as they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. (Matthew 22:23-33). Jesus referred to “the resurrection of the dead” and the language in this passage implies that there will be a specific resurrection of the dead. This event, “the resurrection of the dead“, the scriptures teach us about in I Corinthians 15:42-44
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
The passage continues - I Corinthians 15:51-56
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the book of Revelation, there is mention of these trumpets sounded at the end of the ages. Revelation 11 records the last trumpet - the seventh, being sounded by an angel. (Revelation 11:15) All manner of visions and catastrophies happen after this trumpet is sounded. One thing pointed out in Revelation 20:11-15, the dead will be raised and judged “according to what they had done.” This concept of being judged according to what we have done really drives home the idea that we need to be wholehearted in our love for God and that should show up in our lives. The scriptures are strong on this point, that a person is judged according to how the live, and what they have done. (Consider Jeremiah 17:10-11, I Peter 4:17-19, Hebrews 10:26-30) Anyone whose name is not in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. “The Ressurection” is the day that those who joined with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection through faith at their baptism, will join him again as they are physcially raised from the dead and reunited with him to inherit the eternal Kingdom of God. (I Corinthians 15:50-52)
Jenny Courtney especially had reason to celebrate this day of remembering Jesus’ resurrection - as she herself was baptized for the forgiveness of her sins this past Easter morning! It was very inspiring to see her be baptized by her boyfriend, Stephen, who was baptized just 3 weeks ago! God has worked powerfully in their relationship to lead them both to repentance. They both went after studying the Word and understood that if they were going to be true disciples they would have to radically change their lives and everything about their dating relationship. The sisters shared about Jenny’s sincere and repentant heart and love for God which she makes obvious in her obedience to His Word. It was awesome to see a new sister added to God’s family here in Eugene.
After the service, we all had a great time together of feasting and fellowship. It was truly a great time together with the brothers and sisters in “the Shire.” A time to remind ourselves that Jesus Resurrected from the dead, that we died with him at our rebirth, and that one day we will die and look forward to being raised again to be with Him forever.
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:58
Jeremy Ciaramella
Evangelist
