A Stone Over the Door: An Easter Message from Pastor Chuck
This Easter Sunday message from Pastor Chuck was taken from Blue Letter Bible and is based on Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, and John 20:1-10. All Scriptures are taken from the King James Version.
Jesus was with His disciples before His being arrested in the garden, having what is traditionally called the “Last Supper”. He was heavy in heart and spirit. He knew the cup that He was going to drink. He knew the disappointment the disciples were going to experience, the devastation that they would feel when they saw Him hanging dead upon the cross. It was a solemn moment.
People that day were looking for the Messiah. And they were looking for the signs of the Messiah. John wrote that Jesus did many signs; but John selected certain signs, and he said, “But these have I written unto you that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and by believing have life in His Name” (John 20:31).
Not only did Jesus do many signs proving that He was the Messiah, but Jesus made some radical claims concerning Himself—claims that would be totally inappropriate for anyone who wasn’t the Messiah. In John 14:19, Jesus said, “Because I live, you too shall live.” Radical claims. Imagine someone standing before you and saying, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. If you live and believe in Me, you will never die” (John 11: 25-26a)
Jesus said the ultimate sign would be His Resurrection from the dead. Over and over, Jesus was telling His disciples that He was going to be turned over to the hands of the Gentiles, that they were going to crucify Him, but on the third day, He would rise from the dead. That would be the ultimate sign that He is the Messiah. Easter Sunday would be the “Big Showdown.” If Jesus does not rise from the dead on the third day, then all of the other signs are invalidated. And all of the claims of Jesus are bogus.
With everything He had done and said hanging on His Resurrection on the third day, don’t you think the disciples would have all been there sitting outside of the tomb on the third day to see what was going to happen? I mean, this is it! Interesting! None of them were there. Early in the morning, the ladies were headed to the tomb, but not to see Resurrection; they were weeping, mourning, taking spices that they might anoint the body of Jesus. It was all over, as far as they were concerned. They’ll pay their last respects; they’ll do their last little deed of love—but they had no hope of the Resurrection.
The disciples didn’t believe that He would rise from the dead. When they saw Him die, they were so overcome, so overwhelmed; they thought, It’s all over. That’s it. All of the claims are false. He’s not the Messiah. We were deceived. And even when Mary came back and said, “I saw Jesus. He’s alive. He talked to me there in the garden,” they didn’t believe her.
We read about the two disciples who were on the road to Emmaus. As they were walking along, Jesus said, “What happened, Fellas? You look horrible. Why are you so glum?” They said, “Are you a stranger around here? Don’t you know the things that are happening the last few days in Jerusalem? There was a man named Jesus, he was from Nazareth. He went around doing good, healing all manner of sickness and diseases, and we had hoped that in Him was the salvation of Israel. But they put Him to death, and this is the third day. Oh, there were some women who came back from the tomb this morning and said the tomb was empty, but they didn’t see Him.”
And Jesus turned to them and said, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that God has written concerning the Messiah” (Luke 24:25). And He opened up the Scriptures beginning with Genesis and going through the Old Testament, showing them all of the Scriptures that spoke of the Messiah’s death, suffering, and Resurrection. When they got to Emmaus, He acted as though He would continue on the path, but they said, “Oh, no, it’s getting too late. Abide with us.” And Jesus went in, and as He broke the bread, they recognized Him.
You see, as He went through all of the Scriptures, He no doubt went through the Scripture, They pierced my hands and my feet (Psalm 22:16). And no sooner than they realized it was Jesus, then He disappeared. They ran back to Jerusalem to the other disciples and said, “The Lord’s alive and He has risen indeed! He appeared to us on the road to Emmaus.” The other disciples didn’t believe.
Mark tells us about that evening, as the disciples were gathered together, Jesus upbraided them for their unbelief and their hardness of heart because they believed not those that had seen Him after He was risen. Here’s the ultimate sign, the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus declared in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; behold, I am alive for evermore.”
It’s interesting that the enemies of Jesus remembered His promise to rise. They came to Pilate and said, “When this deceiver was alive, He talked about rising from the dead on the third day. We want you to seal the tomb and put a guard there, and just make sure He stays there.” Pilate said, “You make it just as sure as you can.” In other words: “I’m not going to do it.”
They remembered the words of Jesus, but the disciples, His followers, didn’t seem to remember. But now, He is risen—the ultimate sign of His Messiahship [and] the only sign that will be given to the world.
What does it mean? It means that Jesus is the promised Messiah. He passed the supreme test; He fulfilled the ultimate sign. It means that all of His claims are true. All who believe in Him will be forgiven all the sins they’ve ever committed. We will not perish because of our sins, but we have the gift of eternal life. The promises of Jesus are valid, and because He lives, we, too, shall live. We will live with Him in the Kingdom of God, world without end.
No wonder we get excited at Easter time! We celebrate the Living Hope that God has given to us by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As Peter later wrote, “Thank God we’ve been born again, and we have a living hope by the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, of an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, that is reserved in heaven for you who are being kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Peter 1:3-5).
Yes, Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Savior of the World. And He will save all who will come unto God by Him—to those that believe, eternal life.
After upbraiding His disciples, Mark 16:15-16 tells us Jesus then said, “Go into all the world and preach this good news to every creature. And he who believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.” So that’s where it lies today: Those who believe it have the hope of eternal life; those who do not believe it and are living without hope are without Christ in this world.
I’m so glad I have the Living Hope because of the Resurrection!
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