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Apr 21, 2019

Apologizing for Easter

1 Corinthians 15:14-19
Apologizing for Easter

April 21, 2019

 

Happy Easter, everyone! It is so good to see you here this morning!

          In one way, Easter is an odd holiday. This is the 13th Easter Sunday that I’ve preached at Trinity. During that time, I’ve preached on March 23rd, 27th, and 31st; April 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, twice on April 8th, April 12th, 20th, 21st, and 24th.

          Does anyone else look at the calendar each year and say, “Huh, that’s when Easter is?” I know I do. But, why do we have to look for Easter’s date every year?

It’s because Christ’s death and resurrection occurred during the Jewish celebration of Passover. That feast took place at the first full moon after the vernal equinox—what we now know as the first day of spring. Because of this, and because they wanted to standardize Easter on a Sunday, early church councils set the date for Easter as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This means that Easter can occur any Sunday from March 22 to April 25.

An explanation like that can take the wind out of the holiday sails in a heartbeat!

          In a way, I think it’s unfortunate that Easter’s date changes from year to year. A static date would certainly make planning easier, but the shifting nature of Easter’s celebration doesn’t match the foundational nature of Christianity’s signature holiday.

          There is no Christian holiday more important than Easter because of what we celebrate. Though we don’t have an exact date, Easter is an anniversary, an annual commemoration of the most important event in Christian history—the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          Other holidays are more profitable, other holidays are more popular, but no other holiday is more profoundly necessary than Easter. Without the event that has spawned celebrations for nearly two millennia, Christianity would not exist…or if it did, it would be a house of cards built on a lie and we’d all be fools.

Today, I want to apologize for Easter.

       Have you ever noticed that we need to apologize for a lot of different things? We apologize for being late, for hurtful words, for unintended consequences, and for intended consequences. We apologize for being forward and for not speaking up. We apologize for being harsh and for not being direct enough. I could go on, but you know what I mean.

          Since we apologize for a lot of different things, I want to apologize for Easter. You may find this crazy, but when I say that, I can’t help but think of Inigo Montoya. How many of you know Inigo Montoya? He is the Spaniard in The Princess Bride.

When the character Vizzini keeps saying the word inconceivable, Inigo responds with, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” When I tell you that I want to apologize for Easter, it does not mean what you think it means.

          If you look up the word apologize[1] on dictionary dot com, you’ll find two entries. First, to apologize means to offer an apology or excuse for some fault, insult, failure, or injury. We’re familiar with that definition. The second definition is less well-known—to apologize means to make a formal defense in speech or writing. I am using the word apologize in this second sense; that is called apologetics.

Apologetics is the discipline of defending religious doctrine. This morning, I want to offer an apologetic for Easter, not for our holiday, but for the event that spawned it. I want to offer an apologetic for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          If you grew up going to church most of your life like I did, you may have learned the song, “The B-I-B-L-E” when you were young. If you don’t know the song, the lyrics are “The B-I-B-L-E / Yes, that’s the book for me / I stand alone on the word of God / The B-I-B-L-E.”

          That’s a good, foundational song for children to learn, but it’s not nearly enough for us to stand on as adults. In fact, let me go so far as to say that the Bible is not the foundation of Christianity. As important as the Bible is to Christianity, it is not the most important thing. We cannot stand on the Bible alone; we must first stand on the event that makes this entire book unlike any other work that’s ever been written or collected.

          The part of the Bible we call the Old Testament is ancient history of this world and of a specific group of people. The part we call the New Testament is accounts of the life of Christ, the beginning and early history of the Christian church, and letters of teaching and correction to the earliest churches.

          In one of those letters to the church in Corinth, Greece, we read this from the Apostle Paul: “I passed on to you what I received, of which this was most important: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day as the Scriptures say; and that he was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, Jesus was seen by more than five hundred of the believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all he was seen by me…,” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, NCV).

          Here, Paul gives four essential parts to the gospel—the good news about Jesus: (1) Christ died (2) He was buried (3) He was raised, and (4) He appeared.

          Paul said the first three happened as Scripture predicted they would happen. The fourth, Christ appearing, was confirmation that the prophecies were true.

          A little farther on in the same letter, Paul makes it clear that the resurrection is the linchpin of the Christian faith: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing. Also, we are guilty of lying about God, because we testified…that he raised Christ from the dead…. if Christ has not been raised, then your faith has nothing to it; you are still guilty of your sins. And those in Christ who have already died are lost. If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world,” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19, NCV).

Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity! Without the resurrection, there is no Easter!

          The Bible is the word of God, but it is not the foundation of Christianity. Christianity is not dependent on the Bible; it is dependent on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Without the resurrection, Christianity is simply a man-made philosophy. It is just one of hundreds of different approaches to life. However, because of the resurrection, Christianity is so much more than a philosophical approach to life; it is the only true and correct approach to life. Now, I understand what a huge claim that is and I wouldn’t make it if I didn’t believe it to be true. That’s why I am apologizing for Easter this morning. That’s why I am defending the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How do we know Jesus rose from the dead? Let’s look at four pieces of evidence.[2]

1. Jesus’ empty tomb

          After Jesus died on the cross, he was buried in a tomb belonging to a guy named Joseph of Arimathea. The Jewish leaders had guards posted at the tomb to make sure Jesus’ body wasn’t moved in the night.

When those same guards reported that the tomb was empty and that it happened right in front of their eyes, they were bribed to say that Jesus’ followers had stolen the body while they were sleeping.

The empty tomb and the Jewish leaders’ attempts to rewrite the story are solid evidence that Jesus rose from the dead.

2. Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances

          Since we’ve already read Paul’s account from his letter to the church in Corinth, Greece, I’ll simply list those appearances again.

  • Jesus appeared to all the apostles on multiple occasions.
  • He appeared to more than 500 people at the same time. (And Paul noted that most of those people were still alive when he was writing his letter. By doing that, he was saying, “Ask them if you don’t believe me.”)
  • He appeared to his half-brother, James.
  • He appeared to Paul.
    Author Kenneth Samples offers good insight into Jesus’ appearances:

Jesus’ appearances were both physical and bodily in nature (he was seen, heard, and touched) and not purely spiritual or ghostlike. They were also diverse and varied—Jesus appeared to men and women, to friends and enemies, to single individuals as well as to small and large groups of people, to some people on a single occasion and to others more than once, during the day and the night, as well as indoors and outdoors. (Samples)

If only a few people had repeated the same account of Jesus’ appearance, we could probably view them skeptically.

But the varied nature of the appearances makes that hard to do. It also points to the likelihood that Jesus really did rise from the dead.

3. The transformation of people’s lives

The New Testament describes a remarkable transformation in eleven of Jesus’s disciples. From being frightened, defeated cowards after the crucifixion, they became bold preachers and, in some cases, martyrs. They became courageous enough to stand against hostile Jews and Romans, even in the face of torture and death.

How do we explain such transformation when we know that human character and conduct seldom change so easily or so often? Because the apostles ran away and denied knowing Jesus after he was arrested, their courage in the face of persecution seems even more astonishing.

They attributed the strength of their newfound character to their direct, personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus. In the resurrection, the apostles found their reason to live—and die. (Samples)

Let’s look a little more closely at two examples of this transformation.

Thomas

Thomas was one of the original 12 apostles, but he was not among the first followers to see the risen Christ. When he heard the report of Jesus’s resurrection, he doubted it. He said: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25, NIV).

He was a follower of Jesus, but he was also skeptical and needed direct, empirical evidence even when the testimony came from his close friends and colleagues. He got that evidence when he had his own encounter with the resurrected Jesus. John describes the scene in his gospel: A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:26–28, NIV)

If the resurrection was just a concocted mythical story, it probably wouldn’t include the claim that one of the original disciples seriously questioned Jesus’s resurrection. (Samples)

James

The Gospels tell us that prior to the resurrection, Jesus’s brothers were highly dismissive of his messianic claims. In fact, Jesus’s family said he was crazy.

Somehow, his half-brother, James, went from seeing Jesus as crazy to becoming one of the key leaders of the early Christian church. Sources in church history say that he was martyred for his belief in Jesus as the Savior.

What could explain James’s amazing change of heart from being embarrassed by Jesus’ claims to becoming a leader in the early church, and even becoming a martyr? (Well, What would it take for you to believe your brother was the savior of the world? Probably, nothing short of rising from the dead!)

The resurrection seems to the best explanation for James’ radical transformation. (Samples)

4. The New Testament Accounts of Jesus’ resurrection

[Note: At this point in the message, our youth pastor walked down the center aisle of the church on his cell phone. He whispered into Pastor Rob's ear. Pastor Rob took a moment to compose himself and then asked the congregation questions about Pastor Hunter (e.g. the color of his shirt, tie, coat, and pants). The congregation could only agree on the fact that he entered the sanctuary.]

Here is where some folks like to point out discrepancies in the Bible. All four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) contain accounts of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. However, not all the details are the same.

  • Which women went to Jesus’ tomb?
    • Mary Magdalene?
    • Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James?
    • Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome?
    • Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and others?
  • How many angels were at Jesus’ tomb? 1 or 2?
  • Was the stone rolled away before or after the women arrived?

Reading the four gospel accounts brings such questions to mind. But think about this, are eyewitnesses guaranteed to see an event the same way? No, they are not!

In historical research, conflicting reports of an event are evidence the event occurred. If all four Gospels gave exactly the same story, in exactly the same order, with exactly the same details, we might become suspicious. We also might wonder why all four writers didn’t simply put their names on one account of Jesus’ life.[3]

Instead of that, we have four accounts which sometime differ from each other in minor details, but never in the most important details. And, such differences point to the historical accuracy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          I love Chuck Colson’s testimony about the resurrection. Chuck Colson served as special counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. He became a Christ follower while serving time in prison in the wake of the Watergate scandal. He said, “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. They were beaten, tortured, stoned, and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world — and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in the history of Christianity. Our faith does not rest on this collection of ancient writings . It rests on an historical event—the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Jaroslav Pelikan, professor of church history as Yale University, wrote these words: “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not—nothing else matters.”

All of us here today probably fit into one of three categories:

  1. Those who believe what I’m saying.
  2. Those who are unsure about what I’m saying. This group includes those who want to find the truth as well as those for whom it doesn’t really matter one way or the other
  3. Those who do not believe what I’m saying.

I don’t think you could have picked a better day to come to church!

For those of you who are already Christians, you know why today is so important. And for those of you who are not yet Christians, I’m so glad that you’re here and that I’ve had the opportunity to share this message with you.

I know it sounds a little farfetched. Seriously, people do not come back to life after being dead for three days. Usually, that’s true. But not in the case of Christ. He is God’s son. God in the flesh, born a babe, lived as a man, died a martyr, and rose the savior of the world.

A savior is simply someone who saves, rescues or delivers someone else. Christ lived, died and rose again to save me and to save you from the disease of sin.

Sin is more than just wrong choices, bad decisions, and willful acts of disobedience against God. It’s that and more. Sin is missing the mark or deliberately stepping over the line, but it is also a power at work inside every human being. As strange as it may sound, sin seems to have a will of its own. Like an addiction, sin seems to take hold of us and cause us to act in ways we never wanted. Jesus’ death and resurrection dealt finally and definitively with the reality of sin. Not only can we be forgiven, but we can also be liberated from the power of sin over us.[4]

As you consider my words this morning, keep this question in mind: did Jesus rise from the dead? If he didn’t, then you can discount everything I’ve said and everything we’ve done here this morning. You can write us off as misguided folks who are nice enough, but out of touch.

But, if he did rise from the dead, then it changes everything for you.

  • It means God exists, he loves you, and he sent his son to be the savior, deliverer, and rescuer you need.
  • It means there’s more to this life than just this life.
  • It means the sense of ought and ought not that you live with is the impression of God on your soul and not just some arbitrary moral standard someone created.
  • It means the faith of family and friends is real.
  • It means God hears your prayers and that you can be forgiven.
  • It means you can never sin so much that you are outside the reach of His grace.
  • It means you can have a clear conscience.

If Jesus rose from the dead…it changes everything!

As you consider the Christian faith, know that it begins and ends with an historical event – the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Some of you are convinced of that fact and some of you are not convinced.

Now, I want to speak to the group of people who are in the middleon the edge of deciding whether you believe this. Today I want to give you an opportunity to take a step of faith and confess Jesus as your personal, risen savior.

We do that through prayer. Praying doesn’t make you a Christian. It is simply how you communicate to God that you are going to shift all your trust from yourself or from whatever you may have believed in the past to what Jesus did on your behalf through his death, burial, and resurrection when he paid the price for you sin.

If you’re ready to do that because a light bulb came on or a barrier fell down while I was speaking…know that it wasn’t my skill at work; it was the Holy Spirit getting your attention because you were open to hearing the truth today.

If that’s you, would you pray this prayer after me?

Heavenly father, I believe Jesus is the savior of the world. I believe he’s my savior. I believe that when he died on the cross, he died for my sin. So today, I’m transferring my faith in myself, my ability to be a good person, my good intentions and what I used to believe…I’m transferring all of this to what Jesus did when he died on the cross and rose again. I’m placing all my faith in Christ as my savior and my Lord. Forgive me of my sin, receive me into your family. Thank you for hearing my prayer. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer with me, tell some one about it and let me know. I’d like to follow up with you.

Stand up with me. As you leave, look at someone near you and tell them, “Happy Easter! He is risen!”


[1] “Apologize,” Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/apologize

[2] Kenneth Samples, “A Dozen Evidences for the Resurrection of Jesus,” Reflections by Ken, March 27, 2018, https://reflectionsbyken.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/a-dozen-evidences-for-the-resurrection-of-jesus/.

[3] Josh McDowell Ministry, “Don’t the resurrection accounts contradict each other?” found at Be Thinking dot Org, https://www.bethinking.org/did-jesus-rise-from-the-dead/q-dont-the-resurrection-accounts-contradict-each-other.

[4] Adapted from notes in Romans chapter 3 of The Voice Translation

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