Easter Sunday 2024
Live with Faith, Hope, and Love!
Matthew 28:1-10 & John 11:25-26 (NAS95)
Nobody expected Jesus to rise from the dead. Nobody.
Not the soldiers who were experts at the brutal art of crucifixion. Nobody survived.
Not the rulers who sentenced him to death. Nobody resisted their will.
Not the empire of Rome that dominated the world. Nobody in the capital even noticed.
Not the religious leaders. They were now rid of him once and for all.
Not His disciples. This was the end of their promising movement.
Not the crowds in Jerusalem. Their hopes of a conquering hero were crushed.
Not the principalities and powers, the evil forces in high places, the ministers of hate and cruelty, that conspired to kill the Son of God.
Only Jesus knew, because He trusted His Father to keep His promise, to fulfill His purpose, to manifest His mercy, to save a lost world.
It was for the joy of a resurrection coming that He endured the pain, carried our shame, forgave His enemies, and gave His life as a sacrifice for us.
Jesus the Messiah, the Christ of God, died and rose again so that anyone who puts their trust in him can be rescued from sin and sadness, delivered from death and judgment, reawakened by the shock of this good news, and infused with hope.
On that morning, NOBODY imagined an outcome like this. But then there was no body in the tomb.
Now EVERYBODY is invited to take the gift that fills our hearts, stills our fears, and transforms all of life with an undying, everlasting love.[1]
The Easter proclamation is God’s invitation into a personal relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ – it is God’s adoption of His Children at the great cost of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. It is through the promise of resurrection and life, as proclaimed by Jesus’ victory over death that we can have life with God, for this life and in the life to come. Listen to the Gospel of Matthew 28:1-10 and let us commemorate the historical event for which we celebrate Easter:
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him 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 has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
Let us pray.
Before Easter Sunday, Jesus promised in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” That is the question of the age – “Do you believe this?” It is a question that Jesus asks all people through the Holy Spirit, and I voice it to you personally today.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is our hope, not only for eternal life, but for today. It is important to realize this reality – there is more to the gospel of Jesus Christ than being saved from your sins so that you can enjoy eternity with God. While that is the best news ever proclaimed, the reality of the resurrection is that we are called to live with faith, hope, and love in this life, as ambassadors of Christ – we join with these first eyewitnesses of the resurrection to do exactly what they were told to do – “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; … Don’t be afraid, go!”
This is the mission of the church of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20)! This is what we were saved to do. Jesus’ victory calls us to receive salvation, not only so we can be saved, but so that we can join with Jesus in His magnificent work. Paul taught us this amazing truth in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Let’s take a few minutes this morning to be reminded of the life we are called to live as the people who gather on Easter Sunday. As ambassadors of Christ, we no longer represent ourselves – we represent Jesus! There are three things I believe maturing ambassadors of Christ will exhibit in their daily lives if we are going to accurately exalt Jesus as crucified, risen, and coming again, through our lives. These three characteristics are found in 1 Corinthians 13:11-13:
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
First, maturing ambassadors of Jesus are messengers of faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is the entrance to the life of Christ, and it is impossible to accurately represent Him apart from God’s grace at work in your through faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul taught in Ephesians 2:1-10:
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can please God, as Hebrews 11:6 teaches us, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Faith is what marks our lives because it is only through faith that we can be pleasing to the Lord or manifest the good fruit of the Holy Spirit in other people’s lives, showing them the very character of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Second, maturing ambassadors of Jesus are proclaimers of hope. Be different than the rest of the world – be a hope-bearer, not a doomsdayer! Anyone can focus on what is wrong – sin is like gravity! Just like when you step out of the second story window, when you hold a grudge or gossip about someone, you end up broken! Hope is a game-changer! I like to say that hope is my superpower because without hope in the God who keeps His promises, doing what God said He will do, I take matters into my own hands. This is the meaning of Romans 5:1-5:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Apart from hope in God, I can’t demonstrate my faith! Hope gives us the courage to act according to our faith, and that is most clearly seen in our love, poured out to us in abundance!
Third, maturing ambassadors of Jesus are heralds of God’s love. John taught us this love in 1 John 4:7-19:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.
The greatest test of your faith is often found in your daily relationships and how you conduct yourself under stress. How are you loving others? This is the greatest sign of your faith and hope; it’s how you persevere in love for the gospel message of love. Here’s a practical teaching on how to be an ambassador of Jesus, from Galatians 6:1-2, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”
What is the law of Christ you ask? It’s love, as Jesus taught on the night He instituted the Lord’s Supper and washed the disciples’ feet, as an example of the kind of love we are to emulate. Jesus commanded in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
I return to the question that Jesus asked you, “Do you believe this?” Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world, who died on the cross for your sins, defeated death through His resurrection three days later, on the first Easter Sunday. Have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to fill that empty place with His Spirit, sealing you for the day of redemption. Do you believe this? If you do, are you living as an ambassador of God’s love?