Relevance of Easter
INTRODUCTION
During the week, a group of people were talking about the Easter Weekend. They were looking forward to the break and talking about their plans. The idea of attending church did not enter their discussion! A more thoughtful member of the group asked if anyone knew the meaning of Easter. One of them pulled out an iPhone and typed Easter into Google. One of the hits said, Easter is a time of springtime festivals, a time to welcome back the tulips, the crocuses, and the daffodils. It’s a time of chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, and coloured eggs. Is that it? Surely there must be more. This brings us to the relevance of Easter, and given the conversation of this group, we need to look first at…
THE MEANING OF EASTER
It is about Jesus
Alongside the other hits on Google, was a website from a primary school. This caught the group’s attention because some of their children attended the school. The children said Easter is the most important festival of the Christian Church… it is a celebration of the death and coming to life again of Jesus Christ.
The promise of resurrection
And they’re right. Easter is about a man named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago. He said he had a message from God, and for this, he was put to death. Three days later, he was raised from the dead. What is amazing is that Jesus said this was going to happen. In Matthew 16:21 Jesus said he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things… he would be crucified, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. And he did… he appeared to many people. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 says, “Christ died for our sins and was buried. He was then raised on the third day, and appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After this, he appeared to more than five hundred at the same time and most are still living. He then appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”
Applying the evidence
The evidence for the resurrection is relevant today because there is so much scepticism about the Christian faith. This is relevant, not just for Christians, but for atheists and those of other faiths. If atheists can disprove the resurrection, then the case is closed. If other faiths can disprove the resurrection then we need to look elsewhere for God. 1 Corinthians 15:14–19 agrees with this when it says, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith. More than this, we are false witnesses, for we have testified that God raised Christ from the dead.” This passage goes on to say that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile; we are still in our sins, and those who have died in Christ are lost. If only in this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. If the resurrection is true, however, we have to take Christ seriously. If the resurrection is true, there is hope for the future as we look forward to our resurrection. This leads to…
THE MESSAGE OF EASTER
Celebration of the early followers
Having checked out the primary school website, the group then looked at Wikipedia. The article said: Easter, is the most important feast of the Christian liturgical year… It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death some time around AD 27 to 33. The historical reality of this event changed the lives of the early followers of Jesus. It became the message of Easter.
Transformed lives
The impact of this message was seen in their worship, in their witness, and in their work. After the resurrection, the early church met regularly to worship Jesus as Lord. They did this because, as Philippians 2:9–11 says, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
As the early disciples were transformed in their worship, they became courageous witnesses to the power of God. In Acts 3:15, Peter said to the Jewish leaders, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”
Their worship and their witness was reflected in their daily work. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people… It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Continuing change today
The message of Easter continues today as we are raised to new life in Christ. Ephesians 2:1-5 says, “We were dead in our transgressions and sins, in which we used to live… But God made us alive with Christ.” Like the early disciples, this transformation is seen in our worship, in our witness, and in our work. We too worship the risen Christ; we too are witnesses of his saving work; we too work as if serving the Lord. This is the message of Easter.
Bernard Cartledge