Easter Is All About a Risen, Living Jesus!

Easter Sunday, 4/1/18
1 Corinthians 15:19-26


Easter Is All About a Risen, Living Jesus!
I. He is the First, with us to follow.
II. He is the Victor, so let us rejoice.


If you know me well, you know that I’m oblivious to all sorts of things. If you do something for me as a kind gesture, make sure you point it out to me, or I just might miss it. If you’ve had a personal make-over and you’re rightly pleased with the results, if I don’t compliment you, don’t think I don’t like the way you look; it’s just that I didn’t notice.

But there are some things I’ve noticed recently. I was standing in line a couple days ago at a local department store and I noticed one of the associates displaying cute little dresses on a rack placed right at the store’s entrance and it made me smile, thinking that some mom soon would buy it for her daughter for Easter. I’ve noticed that candy advertising spiked over the last couple weeks as people purchase Easter candy. I noticed several businesses have posted signs stating they will be closed on Easter. Even the TV weather forecasters have caught the Easter spirit. I noticed more than one indicating for the past few days what kind of weather we could expect for our Easter celebrations.

It’s apparent that people in general don’t mind celebrating Easter. But I have to wonder…how many of them get it? By that I mean, how many of them are celebrating what we’re celebrating this morning? How many of them will get past the candy and the baskets and the bunnies and the decorations and the family gatherings and will realize and celebrate what Easter really is? How many people get it?

But a better question for us is, “Do we?” Do we get what Easter is about? Well, the fact that you’re seated here in a Christian house of worship praising God for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a good indicator that you do. And we’re all thankful for that.

But there are times in our lives when we forget, or we become overcome by what we’re facing, or we’ve done the “Easter” thing and now it’s back to life’s realities. Do you know what I mean?

If so, then rather than dismiss what I’m about to share with you, realize how much you need to re-take Easter to heart—what Easter is all about. Easter is all about a risen, living Jesus. Just what does that mean for you each day? Listen as Paul helps us with that through these words from his great resurrection chapter of 1 Corinthians.

Part I.

Are you familiar with the name Roger Bannister? Maybe a few of you are. For decades in the sport of track and field it was widely believed that running a mile in under four minutes was not humanly possible. Countless runners had endeavored to accomplish it, only to fail. Then along came Roger Bannister and in 1954 he was the first person to accomplish this heroic feat. Perhaps one of the reasons you may not have recognized his name is that running a sub-four minute mile is no longer so amazing. In fact, it’s quite common. Roger was the first and now countless others have followed.

But what does that have to do with our celebration of Easter? Bear with me a minute.

The Apostle Paul originally wrote these words to the Christians in the city of Corinth. They hadn’t been Christians for very long. Most of them had formerly been idol worshippers, pagans. Paul had initially shared the word of God with them, especially how Jesus had died for their sins and had risen from the dead, but then Paul moved on to do mission work elsewhere. Somehow, after Paul had left, a terrible false teaching had taken root among them. They denied that there was a resurrection from the dead. The people in Corinth were convinced—as so many people are today—that once your body dies, that’s it. There’s nothing left for it but to decay. However, these Corinthians Christians still believed that Jesus rose from the dead.

Paul spends this portion of his letter setting them straight. He draws a straight line from Christ’s resurrection to our own resurrection on the Last Day. Listen again to his words, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” Paul reinforces what the Corinthians and what every Christian believes—that Jesus Christ actually and physically rose from the dead. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then all of Christianity is a joke, a cruel hoax, a pitiful pipedream. Jesus did rise from the dead just as he promised and just as we believe and confess.

But did you notice the connection Paul makes between us and Jesus? To paraphrase, he states that, if Jesus rose from the dead, we will too. Now wait a minute. Isn’t that like saying if Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey, so will we? Well, it would if Jesus said that’s what we will do; but he never said that. But he did say, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). He tells us in his word more than once that he will raise us on the Last Day.

Jesus was the first. Paul calls him the firstfruit. That’s a biblical way of stating he was the first one to raise himself, and we will follow.

Roger Bannister was the first to run a sub-four minute mile. That doesn’t mean you will, too. Jesus raised himself from the dead and he has promised to return and raise you.

Easter is all about a risen, living Jesus. He is the first, with us to follow.

These words before us this morning are often read at Christian funerals and committals. Appropriately so. The opening sentence reminds us that, as Christians, we shouldn’t grieve over the death of a loved one like non-Christians do. We have the certainty of the resurrection on the Last Day. And that certainly helps us deal with our grief, but grief has a way of persisting. In fact, we call it the grieving process and, at times, it can overwhelm us. And if we’re not wallowing in grief, then the daily struggles of life can so easily swallow us alive. Many are the days when we wonder how much more we can take. You see, our tendency is to become so engrossed in this life that we can’t seem to get past it. It’s like living life confined to a cubicle and the only thing you have in front of you is the multi-colored, bright screen of your life and it keeps rolling forward whether you want it to or not. We tend to get swallowed up by it.

But today—Easter—the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus—lifts us out of that cubicle and draws our attention away from the screen of this life. The resurrection of Jesus assures us that all our sins are forgiven. We have a loving, right relationship with God based on what Jesus did for us. Eternal life is ours. In fact, we will live that life with these very bodies which Jesus will raise and glorify. Finally and forever, all will be right. All will be perfect. All is perfect with the living, risen Jesus. It will be so with us, too.

Part II.

It shouldn’t surprise us that we struggle at times to respond properly to the resurrection of Jesus. It was that way with the followers of Jesus on the day of his resurrection. As we heard earlier in today’s Gospel, the women went to the tomb full of sorrow to give him a proper burial. But he wasn’t there. The angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. You would think they would have shouted and jumped for joy. But they didn’t. That’s because they were bewildered and they went away sad.

We could easily depart from our Easter celebration the same way—back to the same struggles and sorrows we’ve had most of our lives. And who would blame us? Celebrating Easter doesn’t outwardly change things much for us. Tomorrow it will be back to the same difficulties we faced last week, all this year, all our lives.

But Easter has changed things. Jesus’s resurrection from the dead changes everything. His resurrection means that he is the victor even over death. Paul tells us, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Jesus’ resurrection assures us that he conquered death. Death can no longer separate us from God or from our loved ones. Death for us isn’t the end; it’s the beginning—the beginning of the life we long for every day. And on the Last Day when Jesus raises us from the dead, we will live—forever.

Easter is all about a risen, living Jesus. He is the Victor, so let’s rejoice!

Throughout the centuries Christians have celebrated the resurrection of Jesus in various ways. For us, it seems most natural to gather here in a place of worship to praise our God for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. That’s what Easter is all about.

But I’ve been told that Christians in India celebrate Easter in a far different place. They don’t gather in a place like this. They gather in cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. And instead of being quiet and somber, they rejoice. They speak and sing words of thanks to God for their loved ones who shared with them the saving news of Jesus who is risen and living. And, therefore, they rejoice to know that their loved ones who died in the faith will rise one day too. And so will they, because Jesus is the Victor over death. That truth gives us comfort and strength in every challenge, disappointment, even every tragedy in life. After we have endured this life with all its empty hopes and dreams, we know that we will die, but live. We will live with our Savior and await the resurrection on the Last Day.

How can you be sure? Because Easter is all about a risen, living Jesus. Because he rose, so will you. So rejoice! And let that inner, Christian, Easter joy be evident as you live your Christian life. Amen.