Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! It is finally Easter, and we celebrate the resurrection! The grave has been opened! The stone has been rolled away! The Lamb of God has been resurrected! Death has been conquered and swallowed up in victory! Jesus died, but He rose again! Let us say it again, Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
What does this mean for the world, that Jesus, the Son of God, has died and has risen again? It means that Jesus has triumphed over death and the devil. As we read on Good Friday, that means by dying on the cross, He has paid the debt of sin we owed because of our sins. But that is not all, though that would certainly be enough.
Easter is truly the greatest day of the entire year, for all that we hold true is culminated in Easter. When Jesus died, He said, “It is finished.” His mission of dying for our sins was fulfilled. All that He had come to do: humbling Himself, being born as a human, living a perfectly sinless life, and dying on the cross, all those tasks were completed. He accomplished His goal. The fact that Jesus died and rose again is why we have salvation. But did you know, if Jesus had only died, but had not been raised from the dead, then our faith would be useless? It’s as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 (CSB), “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”
But Christ did rise from the dead, and so no longer the most pitied, we are the most blessed- that is, all of us who have faith in our risen Savior. For, not only has He paid for our sins, but because He rose, He has triumphed over death and sin, giving us eternal life.
Skipping ahead a bit in chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 reads:
“What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Not only has God forgiven our sins, and given us victory over death and sin, He will come again and clothe us in a new immortal body, giving us eternal life. The story is not over yet, is it? Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we now have the power of God living inside of us, giving us the ability to overcome sin and the devil, and that is not all, though that would certainly be more than enough. We also have a glorious eternity to look forward to. We await His second-coming when He will return and make all things perfect; remaking all of creation, including heaven and earth.
Revelation 21:1-8 tells us more about this. It says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Then the one seated on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new.’ He also said, ‘Write, because these words are faithful and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars — their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”
Did you notice that included in that remaking is a new Jerusalem? Do you remember from our Palm Sunday sermon, that Jesus looked out over the city of Jerusalem and wept? He wept, for He knew the destruction and judgment that awaited the people who rejected Him. Much like He wept when Lazarus died, He wept knowing of the suffering the people of Jerusalem would face. But why did he weep when He knew the ultimate outcome? Why did He still weep even though He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead? Why would He weep for Jerusalem if He knows that He will remake it?
Jesus wept when Lazarus died, because his death still caused a lot of sorrow, and Jesus felt all the grief that everyone felt. Jesus also knew what He was about to face on the cross, so perhaps He was also thinking of all that He was about to endure. When He raised Lazarus from the dead, He did that to illustrate what He was about to do in a very short time from then: He would die on the cross, be buried in a tomb, and then be raised to life. Lazarus foreshadowed the awesome death conquering power of God. Even though He knew Lazarus would be raised, it still caused great sorrow. But Jerusalem was different. Knowing the impending suffering and destruction of Jerusalem, He wept, aware that not everyone would be saved because of their rejection of Him. Although He knows He will restore Jerusalem in the future, He also knows that those who reject Him won’t have the privilege of living in that eternal city. And so, Jesus expressed His sorrow through weeping.
We, too, know how the story of our whole world ultimately ends. Everything will be restored and remade. God’s justice will prevail. The devil will be destroyed. We believers will live forever in God’s glorious kingdom. Yet, we still weep, as we wait for Him. Why would I talk about weeping, on this, the most celebratory day of the entire year? Because there is a lot to weep about. Even though we are to give thanks and rejoice for what God has done for the world and for each of us personally, until He comes again, we will continue to endure great sorrow. We believers are living in a strange time of in-between; experiencing the now and the not yet. Even though we are not of the world, we still live in a broken world. We have the power of God residing in us, and yet we still are not perfect- we struggle against sin. We cling to Jesus and see His faithfulness and experience His love, even while we face trials, injustice, persecution or suffering. We are comforted by His peace, even while we suffer heartbreak or loss. We grow in faith and wisdom, even while we grow old and our bodies give out. And even though, as Christians, we know it is not the end, when we say goodbye to loved ones, still we weep. Even on the most joyful day of the entire year, it is appropriate to weep. For we want all the world to come and celebrate this day with us. We want our unsaved friends and relatives to say yes to the call and join the party, and when they don’t, how can we not weep?
We want the whole world to be the people that Psalm 107:13-15 describes. It says, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke their chains apart. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.”
We are those people. We are the ones who have cried out to the Lord, and He has answered our distress. He has brought us out of darkness and gloom. He has broken our chains of sorrow and sin apart. Even though there is great sorrow, let us lay aside our grief and rejoice in what is true. Let us give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness. For death is not the final answer. Sorrow is not the end of the story. We know the ultimate outcome. All will be made new. Sickness, pain, and suffering will end. Famine, drought, oppression and persecution will cease. Injustices will be made right. Our tears will be wiped away. Our bodies will be fully restored, and we will be fully healed of our sicknesses. We will be reunited with our saved loved ones: we will meet the babies we never got to meet or knew but briefly, see our spouses that passed away before us, embrace our relatives. We will weep no more. Oh, the party we will have! And all of that rejoicing will still pale in importance to seeing our Savior face to face. But because we want everyone to be there, while we are still here, we weep.
Christ’s work on the cross is finished, but His work on this earth is not yet complete. He is waiting to return because He wants this message to be preached to all people. We are to be His hands and His feet, sharing this message of Easter. And it is no easy task to complete. We have this message of salvation and hope for the whole world, and yet so many people don’t want to hear it. That is why weeping is an expected part of sharing the Gospel. Psalm 126:6 says, “Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.” We may weep, but joyous shouts will follow the sorrow. After another person becomes a believer, the joy of salvation erases the sorrow.
Jesus endured the cross, and never has greater sorrow been expressed. Yet, that Easter morning, the women went to the tomb to weep and mourn, and instead, returned with the greatest of joy. John 20:18 tells us that after she spoke with Jesus, “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them what he had said to her.” The text doesn’t tell us this, but she must have shouted and rejoiced. She had seen the risen Lord! The time of weeping was over, and she returned with shouts of joy.
All of us believers, we have seen the risen Lord. He has revealed Himself to us, and He has turned our mourning over our sin into shouts of praise and joy. He died on the cross for us so that we can find forgiveness and love. The risen Lord has turned our sorrow into joy. He has brought us out of darkness, overcoming the threat of death and the burden of sin and shame. Our Savior died for us, but He is alive, and so He has made us alive in Him. And one day, one future glorious day, our time of weeping will be over and we will have only shouts of joy. While we wait, are to be spreading these Gospel seeds, weeping at times, but rejoicing all the while, for our weeping is not without hope. For the resurrection speaks to us this promise: we who have been made alive in Christ will never die. For this is the Easter message, as Ephesians 2:4-5 states, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”
All praise to our Savior Jesus, who loves us so much. Let us shout this message of joy: I have seen the Lord! Christ is risen; we are not without hope! And together let’s say: Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Pray: Heavenly Father, on this Easter Sunday, we rejoice and celebrate the victory that Jesus has won. The Lamb of God has paid our debt of sin, and we are so thankful, for Jesus has turned our sorrow into joy. Please empower us by Your Holy Spirit to share Your Easter message of love and hope with everyone we meet. We love You, and we are so thankful for Your great love for us. In the name of Jesus, our risen Savior we pray. Amen.
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