Easter Sunday
In spite of the fact
that candy, egg hunts, and rabbits are entertaining, what is the “real” meaning
behind Easter?
1)
Jesus was abused
a.
The governor’s soldiers stripped Jesus of his clothes, put
a scarlet robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on
His head. They put a staff in His right
hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him.
“Hail, King of the Jews!” they said.
They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again
and again. After they mocked Him, they
took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him (Matthew 27:27-31).
2)
Jesus died
a.
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over
all the land. About the ninth hour,
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”— which means,
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling
Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and
got a sponge. He filled it with wine
vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud
voice, He gave up His spirit. At that
moment the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many
holy people who died were raised to life.
They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into
the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the
earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed,
“Surely He was the Son of God!” (Matthew
27:45-54).
3)
Jesus was resurrected
a.
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb where Jesus was
buried. There was a violent earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled
back the stone and sat on it. His
appearance was like lighting, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they
shook and became like dead men. The
angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for
Jesus, who was crucified. He is not
here; He has risen, just as He said”
(Matthew 28:1-6).
4) Through His death, Jesus
became sin for you.
a.
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in
Him we might become the righteousness of God
(2 Corinthians
b.
When you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave you of your sins and
cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that were against you and
that stood opposed to you; He took it away and nailed it to the cross. And having disarmed the evil powers and
authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the
cross (Colossians
What is the importance of Jesus, His death, and His
resurrection?
1) Without Christ, we were
destined to eternal damnation in the fiery pits of Hell.
a.
A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble
on himself. The wicked man earns
deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. The truly righteous man attains life, but he
who pursues evil goes to his death. The
Lord detests men of perverse heart, but He delights in those whose ways are
blameless. Be sure of this: The wicked
will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free (Proverbs
b.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans
c.
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans
2)
It is a clear demonstration in which God emphasizes the
fact that if we continue to sin, we will die.
a.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God! For He gives us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore, 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 done in vain (1 Corinthians
b.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received
the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only fearful
expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of
God. Anyone who rejected the Law of
Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man
deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has
treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and
who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
For we know Him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. The Lord will judge His people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God (Hebrews
c.
Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and does not do
it, sins (James
d.
No one who lives in Christ keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen
God or knows God (1 John 3:6).