He’ll Meet You Personally . . .
This past Easter I sat down and wondered what difference has it made in my world? Every year when Easter Sunday roles around, I remember the Easters from my childhood. I have memories of early morning sunrise services singing as the sun jumps out of the morning sky. I can’t help but remember those plaid and gingham checked Easter outfits that my mother made with love then put them on my brother and me by force. Of, course there are memories of traveling to see grandparents, egg hunts, ham dinners (I hate ham). No matter what memories Easter brings back to your mind–rest assured–without it–none of the stuff we do in church would be necessary.
Saturday night I watch The Passion of the Christ for the first time (yeah, yeah, it took me 4 years–I am well acquainted with the details of the story) It brought to visual reality—the suffering that Jesus endured for us though a movie could never really convey what He suffered and faced. What we do know is that His death gives us forgiveness & redemption that we crave. It’s through His blood that we are reconciled to God.
Colossians 1:19-20 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
The cross was demanded by God’s holiness. The cross was required because of our sin. The cross secured forgiveness and the open door to a relationship with God. The cross did the job for your life and mine—NOW! But there would be no Christianity if there were no resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:12-14 12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
The resurrection clarifies so much for us.
1. You can trust Jesus – 28:1-7
Beloved—this is not a game, death is not the end. The first people to encounter the empty tomb are told to stop being afraid. Matthew uses wording that implies they needed to stop doing something that they were already doing. The two women had been living in fear and the angel said stop. The remedy for their fear is found in verse 6—“He is not here, He has risen.” Fear is what keeps you and me from trusting other people isn’t it? Fear is what keeps us from trusting Jesus. But Jesus wants us to know that we can trust Him. Listen to His words in John 16:33
John 16:33 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
All over the world, there are monuments to people who succumb to death
Many people accept death as the final chapter—but death is not the end
Death was not the final chapter in Jesus’ life
That’s the clarity that we find in the resurrection
That’s the reason He could say to the two women, “Do not be afraid.”
Jesus has the authority over death and it’s not the end
So don’t be afraid—be courageous
2. Jesus meets you personally – 28:8-10
Beloved, the Christian faith is not an organized religion
Now, I know, you’re thinking, “Then what is it?”
Beloved, the Christian faith is a relationship!
Don’t miss this
Jesus wasn’t taken to trial because He performed miracles and healed people
He was taken to trail because of Who He was and is
Mark 15:37-39 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Christianity is about a person and a passion
Jesus, in somewhat of a dramatic fashion, interrupts the angel’s orders to meet the women personally
Listen, I don’t know your life—but Jesus wants to know you personally
Has the resurrection brought clarity to you?
1. Trust Him with the things that you carry fear over
2. Maybe you need to trust Him with your life for the first time
3. Whichever the case—He will meet you personally
Take it with you this week:
1. Take time this week to think about the Jesus’ resurrection and what it means to your life
2. Learn to communicate the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection with others—and do it
