Place: Lurgan Baptist 31:3:2002

Reading: Matthew 28:1-10

THE MEANING OF EASTER

A few days after Easter in 1977 an item appeared in the Action Line department of The Philadelphia Inquirer, in which a reader asked whether " Jesus of Nazareth," the two part T.V. programme that was shown by NBC on Palm Sunday and Easter, was available in book form. The newspaper's answer was priceless; " It has been for nearly two thousand years, but if you want the NBC version, you can get it from Ballantine Books for $1.95." Those of you are familiar with the NT will know that two thirds of the gospel story is devoted to the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. With meticulous care and detail, the Evangelists have set on record these historical facts. Here are the salient facts:

1. A man who claimed to be God was crucified on a skull-shaped hill called Calvary. He was certified dead by the Roman Centurion in charge. His death was accompanied by such awesome signs and wonders that His executioners owned to be the Son of God.

2. He was buried in a brand new tomb, which was secured by a stone, a seal and detachment of soldiers. These precautions were taken by the authorities to ensure that noone tampered with the body.

3. Three days later the tomb was empty. The stone was rolled back. The guards fled in terror. A visitor from another world proclaimed Him to be alive.

4. All through that day, and on into the weeks ahead, people saw Him alive.

My .... those are the facts. Either they are gloriously true, or else they are a collection of fables and fantasies.

There are those who believe they are. For some do believe that our Blessed Lord is indeed dead and buried.

" We may freely state," states Professor George Smith,

" that the bones of Jesus lie somewhere in Palestine."

" I have not the slightest interest in a conjuring trick with bones," observes Bishop David Jenkins. So that's what some religionists think of the resurrection of our precious Saviour. Sceptics have gone through heaven and told us there is no gold there. They have gone through hell and told us there is no fire there. They have gone through Christ and told us there is no God there. They have gone through the grave and told there is no resurrection there. But we believe that the precious body of the Lord Jesus which was reverently laid in that cool grave on the evening of Friday April the 3rd literally vacated that grave before six o'clock on the following Sunday morning April the 5th ! For us it is all as literal and factual as that. This nothing less, and nothing else is what we mean by the resurrection of Jesus Christ !

My .... do you what they did in the Early Church ? Christians throughout the Greek speaking world as they met would say, " Christ is Risen."

Then would come back the response, " He is truly Risen." Today, how lack lustre our Easter conversation is as we greet one another. We make little if any mention of Christ's resurrection. Holidays, parties, relaxation, has taken the taken the place of Christ's resurrection in our thinking. How vital, therefore it is for us to rethink Easter. Now I believe the Meaning of Easter is brought before us in the words of the angel to the women. " He is not here .... lay." ( 28:6 ) My .... here is the greatest news that ever fell on mortal ears. The cross is empty, the tomb is vacant, the throne is filled, the Saviour has risen ! I want to notice in these words:

(1) THE EASTER EVIDENCE

" He is not here .... " The world believes that Jesus Christ died, but the world does not believe that He rose from the dead. Yet the angel said " He is not here." How did that garden tomb become empty ? Perhaps,

(a) THE LORD JESUS DID NOT REALLY DIE:

Its claimed that Christ swooned on the cross, was hastily buried but revived in the cool of the tomb and managed to free Himself from His graveclothes. He then escaped into the night and three days later showed Himself alive .... thus giving rise to fables about His resurrection. Now this view raises a multitude of problems. It assumes that a Roman soldier mistook a swooning man for a dead man. It assumes that the Lord's friends embalmed a living man when, surely they of all people would have noticed has He been still alive. It assumes, that the Saviour's bitterest enemies, who had moved heaven and earth to get Him crucified, would leave the scene of execution before making sure He was dead. My .... do you believe that the Lord Jesus did not really die ? Well, the gospels tell us that He did. He literally died ! To substantiate this we have:

1. The Witness of the FATHER:

For " the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." ( Matt 27:51 ) By a divine act that temple veil as thick as two hands put together was rent in twain a sign that the Lord Jesus had " yielded up the ghost." ( Matt 27:50 ) The work that Christ was given to do was finished and heaven was satisfied !

2. The Witness of the FOES:

" One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." ( Jn 19:34 )

They broke the legs of those who were crucified with Christ to hasten their death but when they came to the Lord Jesus they saw " that he was dead already."

3. The Witness of the FRIENDS:

" And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb."

( 27:60 ) My .... Jesus Christ actually died !

(b) CHRIST'S BODY WAS STOLEN:

Was this not the first rumour to be circulated ?

The disciples have stolen the body ! To support this falsehood the Jewish Sanhedrin paid the soldiers who had reported the resurrection, " large money," to say, that while they slept, the disciples came and stole the body. This was obviously a lie. For one thing, the penalty in the Roman Army for sleeping on guard was

death. If it had been true that they had been asleep, the soldiers would have been the first to deny it. The Jewish authorities assured them, " We can bribe the Governor," they said " You don't have to worry." My .... what a sorry lie this was ! Imagine someone coming into a court of law and saying to the Judge and jury, " Your honour, and members of the jury, I consider myself a competent witness because when the events I have described happened, I was sound asleep." My .... a testimony like this would have been laughed at any court !

Maybe Christ's enemies stole the body. If that were so, it seems strange they didn't produce it. My .... three thousand were saved on the day of Pentecost. Paganism and Judaism were being shaken by the message of the Risen Christ. If Christ's enemies had the body do you think they would have done nothing when the apostles began preaching salvation through a Risen Saviour ?

(c) WILD ANIMALS DESTROYED THE BODY OR THE WOMEN WENT TO THE WRONG TOMB:

My .... do you see the ridiculous extent to which the modernist will go to explain away the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ ! " He is not here." I recall the first time I went into the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem and with hundreds of believers from all over the world gazed at these words as they were inscribed on the door of the tomb. My .... heart was thrilled. " He is not here."

Listen, no atom of Christ's body was left within the tomb. It was a nest forsaken. The Bird of Paradise had flown. The sweet scent of the spices clung around that rock-hewn burial place, but the cavern was just an echoing void. The corpse had vanished. " He is not here for He is risen as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." ( 28:6 ) My .... we cannot visit to often that empty grave, delight in it too ardently, revere it too solemnly, or declare it too loyally. For do you know what that empty grave preaches ?

1. The Father was so well pleased with His Son's sacrifice on our behalf that He raised Him from the dead

2. It pledges that my loved ones who have died in Christ will rise also. " Up from the grave He arose." (1)

(2) THE EASTER EVANGEL

" He is risen .... " ( 28:6 ) My .... Christianity is founded on the empty tomb and the risen Saviour. The great evangelist R.A. Torrey said, " The resurrection is the foundation stone of Christian doctrine, the Gibraltar of Christian experience, and the Waterloo of infidelity and rationalism." Years ago a German pastor known for his faith, was sneered at by a speaker at a giant rally of the Nazis in Berlin.

" Pastor Schutez, " said the speaker, " You are a fool. Fancy believing in a crucified, dead Jew." The courageous pastor jumped to his feet. In resounding tones he said, " Yes sir, I should indeed be a fool if I believed in a crucified dead Jew. But Sir, I believe in the Living, Risen Son of God." So do we. And there is all the difference in the world between the two ! " For He is risen .... " This is the Easter Evangel. This was the message that was blazed by the apostles across the ancient world. " He is Risen." Do you know

something ? That makes the Lord Jesus:

(a) A TRUTHFUL SAVIOUR:

" For He is risen, as he said .... " Listen to Matthew's testimony: " The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again." ( Matt 17:22-23 ) Listen to John's testimony, " Jesus said, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He spake of the temple of His body." ( Jn 2:19-21 ) You see, Christ predicted His resurrection in an unmistakable and straightforward manner. My ... the resurrection of Jesus Christ vindicated all that He claimed to be. It was God's confirmation that the Lord Jesus was all He claimed to be. ( Jn 8:58 Rom 1:3-4 ) If you deny the resurrection you make Christ a liar. (a) But notice, " He is risen."

(b) A POWERFUL SAVIOUR:

According to an article in The Washington Post Communism attempts to make its heroes immortal in various ways. Slogans like, " Lenin is always with us."

" Lenin .... forever living," have been part of the repertoire of Russian mythmakers for a long time.

Indeed the notion of Lenin's immortality was launched by Stalin who decided to embalm his body in a mausoleum on Red Square. Right there is the crux of the whole issue .... his body preserved in a coffin. And no matter how many slogans are circulated, Lenin is dead. But Jesus Christ is alive. My .... His body did not moulder into dust. His skeleton cannot be found in some Eastern crypt. Christ arose, and on that immutable fact we base our message. He's a powerful Saviour because He is a Living Saviour ! And there's no heart too hard that he cannot melt: no sin too vile that He cannot cleanse: no sinner too bad that He cannot save. Harold Wildish a missionary who served the Lord in Brazil tells of an incident that happened when he was preaching the gospel to a group of primitive Indians.

He had been telling the story of the coming, living, dying, and rising of the Lord Jesus ! After the preaching was finished for the night and before the company dispersed he heard a conversation on the subject of his message. Most had been moved by the story of the cross and the sufferings of Christ for sinners. They thought it wonderful that the Lord Jesus should endure such grief and pain to redeem them from sin and hell. Then one of them remarked, " Yes, its wonderful but how can a dead man save us ?" Another who had followed the preaching to the end replied, " Yes, but didn't you hear, He rose again from the dead. He's alive, He's risen." My .... do you realise that ? Have you grasp that ? That Jesus Christ is able to save you because He lives ! (a) (b) But thats not !

(c) A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR:

For the angel said, " Behold He goeth before you .... "

( 28:7 ) My .... would you not like a Saviour like that ?

A Saviour who will go before you, walk beside you, and dwell in you ! How do you face life without such a Saviour ? How do you face the loneliness of life without the presence of the Saviour ? The trials of life without the grace of the Saviour ? The perplexities of life without the wisdom of the Saviour ? The demands of life without the strength of the Saviour ? My .... can I commend my Saviour to you this .... ! (a) (b) (c) 1:2:

(3) THE EASTER ENTREATY

" Come .... " ( 28:6 ) You see, on the basis of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God says, " Come."

Bartimaeus came in his Blindness, the Samaritan woman came in her Sinfulness, Nicodemus came in his Fearfulness, Saul came in his Rebelliousness, but the important is this, they all came. Will you come ?

(a) TO THE CHRIST OF CALVARY:

Listen to the words of the angel " I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified." ( 28:5 ) My .... the One who is risen from the dead carries in His hands, feet, side, and brow the marks of Calvary ! Gipsy Smith an evangelist of a bygone day said, " I am not afraid of the cross. I know that men used to come there to die, but since Christ died they come there to live." Can you look by faith to that old rugged cross and say, " He died for me ? He did it for me ?" (a)

(b) TO THE CHRIST OF VICTORY:

" He is not here for He is risen as He said .... " The Greek philosopher Aristole once said, " Death is a dreadful thing for it is the end." Sir Arthur Keith declared, " Nothing follows. Life goes out like a guttering candle." Millions have shared their hopeless beliefs, but when we are confronted with the resurrection we discover that Christ's death was not the end, something did follow. He rose again " to give forgiveness of sins." ( Acts 5:31 ) Are you forgiven ?
Are you sins cleansed ? Have you come to the Christ of victory ? My .... here's (3) " Come," (a) (b)

(c) THE CHRIST OF SOVEREIGNTY:

" And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead .... " ( 28:7 ) Three times in this chapter

" Galilee," is mentioned. Eventually the eleven disciples converged on Galilee, as Christ had appointed, to receive the Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ! ( 28:16 )

My .... do you know this Christ of Calvary, this Christ of Victory, this Christ of Sovereignty ? If not, will you bow before Him, behold " His hands, His feet, His

Side." Will you thank Christ for dying for you ? Will you thank Him for rising for you ? Will you thank Him for living for you ?

Years ago on Princess Street, Edinburgh one of the many shop windows displaying beautiful paintings attracted the eye of a passing gentleman. He was gazing intently at a painting of the " Crucifixion," with the Saviour extended on the Cross, the multitude watching, Mary and some others standing by. It had been a long time since this man had allowed any thoughts like those suggested by the artist to enter his mind. But the artists portrayal awoke his memory and he was impressed and troubled. Suddenly he became aware of the presence at his side of a little ragged laddie who was also looking at intently at the painting of Calvary. " Thats Jesus, Sir, on the cross. They nailed Him there with that crown of thorns on His head, and killed Him, Sir. He was a good man. He died for us, and thats His mother standing there, looking at what they did to Him." The man felt a lump rise in his throat as the boy continued. " And He died, Sir, for our sins and they buried Him yonder sir."

It was all too real, and the man turned away to continue his walk down Princess Street. Presently, he felt a tugging at his coat tails. Turning round he saw the boy who had been telling the story standing looking into his face. The boy blurted our breathlessly, " I forgot to tell you sir, I forgot to tell you HE ROSE AGAIN." My ..... Christ died for you: Rose again for you: Lives for you: Christ is Here for you. This .... will you heed His Entreaty and " Come." Will you say, " Just as I am."