Ten Ways to Think about Easter
What the Story of the Resurrection Means.
This year, millions of people will have an online service or sermon streaming into their homes. Millions more will make their way to a church worship service, with or without masks. Either way, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate the cornerstone of Christian belief: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, or, as it is known by nearly all, Easter.
But what does Easter mean?
While our culture has morphed this Holy Day into a holiday featuring lilies, butterflies, eggs, and bunnies, many people will want to hear this story. And why not? It is Good News!
I have preached the story of the Resurrection well over 30 times in my life. I have kept notes of what I said. Some sermons I am proud to have preached; others have just been meh. However, I am going to share ten of my notes below. These are ‘starter thoughts,’ and I hope that one or two might help the reader understand the amazing, bedrock truth of the Resurrection and what the Story of Easter means.
Here are ten ways to understand the Story of Easter. (If you have never read the story of the Resurrection, you can find it at the end of every one of the four recorded accounts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a helpful page to read over.) Or you can look up these verses in any Bible: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20–21)
1. It’s About Forgiveness
The angels at the tomb were very clear to instruct the disciples to include Peter in the meet-up in Galilee. Peter had a major mess-up and needed to be included. His denial of Jesus was not going to be the final verdict on his life. The Story of Easter means that there is forgiveness available for all who mess up. That’s not only the Good News. That’s great news! (Mark 16:7)
2. Be afraid…in a good way
Mark’s Gospel says that the women left the tomb and they were afraid. The Resurrection is such a massive event that if you are not afraid, you don’t understand it. The Resurrection should ignite a healthy sense of fear and trembling in every follower of Jesus Christ. The Story of Easter means that the world as we knew it is being replaced by the world as God wants it. (Mark 16:8)
3. The End of Ritual Religion
In the Resurrection accounts, the women come to the tomb with spices. They are there to anoint a dead body out of duty and devotion. It was part of a religious ritual. But the Story of Easter effectively ends all proper religiosity. He rose from the dead; ancient spices are no longer required. As John Stott put it: “We live and die; Christ died and lived!”(Mark 16:1)
4. His Absence is our Evidence
The miracle of the Resurrection is about something NOT being there: the body. His tomb is empty. The grave is not final. This is a reversal of the common foe that every person in every culture has to face: Death. Most people want to cheat death. The Story of Easter means that Christ didn’t just cheat death; he defeated it. (Mark 16:6)
5. The Stone was Rolled Away
The Resurrection stands as proof that everything that Jesus said about himself was true. What he said he would do, he did, and what he promised it meant, it means. This means that if the Story of Easter is true, then the Gospel is true. The stone was rolled away NOT so that Jesus could ‘escape,’ but so that the disciples could go in and see for themselves. (John 20:2)
6. Debt Paid and the Debtor is Freed
Imagine we were all hopelessly behind on massive, accumulated debt. (Sound familiar?) Every day would be a pointless exercise in trying to pay off what could never be paid off. But then, one day, the creditor came and settled the debt. Only He could because it was owed to Him. We owed a debt we could not pay, and he paid a debt he did not owe. The Story of Easter means that our sin-debt is forgiven. We can live “debt-free”!(1 Cor. 15:3)
7. All Prophecy Will be Fulfilled
The single most important prophecy that Jesus gave in his ministry concerning himself was that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise again” (Luke 24:7). It happened. This has been fulfilled in the Resurrection. Furthermore, we can now look back and see that ALL the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, the work of the Savior, and the promise of redemption. The Story of Easter means that all of these prophecies were fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Ps. 22:16, 35:11, 41:9, 69:4, Zech 11:12–13, Is 50:6, 53:7, 12 — and many more!)
8. It is Worth Running About
One interesting observation about the Resurrection is that everyone is running to the tomb or running to tell others about it. No one runs in the New Testament except at the end in every account (in Mark, the women flee the tomb; i.e., run!). At the promise of the Resurrection and the news of the Resurrection, everyone starts running. The disciples are running all over the place; they are out-running each other (John) to get their first or be the first to tell others. The Story of Easter means that something new and worth running about has happened. (John 20:4)
9. These Four Simple Words
The Gospel of Matthew has four keywords that should animate and mobilize every believer in the room and every hearer of the Good News. Here is the four-point plan to change the world as spoken by the angel: “Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead…” The Story of Easter means that believers have a plan of action from here on: Come. See. Go. Tell. (Matthew 28:6–7)
10. Get Right and then Go Out
There are about a dozen specific stories of the Risen Christ, thirteen when you include Acts 1. (Though, yes, there were hundreds of witnesses.) In every single one of these stories, the effect is the same. Every person who encountered Jesus was ‘set right and sent out.’ The Story of Easter means that His followers are “set right” and then “sent out .”Or, as the subhead says, “Get right and then go out!”.(.” Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20–21)
Ten More?
There you have it. Ten ideas to help understand the meaning of the Easter Story. There are probably ten more, to be sure. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most important event in the history of the world. I encourage everyone to do what the old Anglican prayer suggests: Read. Mark. Learn. And inwardly digest the story of the Resurrection of Jesus.
Happy Easter
(If you have never read the story of the Resurrection, you can find it at the end of every one of the four recorded accounts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a helpful page to read over.) Or you can look up these verses in any Bible: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20–21)
