My
scripture is found in Luke 24:1-9.
Today is Easter Sunday. This is the day to celebrate the resurrection
of Jesus. I am sad to say though that many
people today still doubt the resurrection.
A man was driving along the highway, when he
saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the
bunny, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of his car and was hit. The
basket of eggs and candy went flying all over the road.
The driver, being a sensitive man as well as
an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what
had become of the bunny carrying the basket. Much to his disappointment, the
colorful bunny was dead. The driver felt guilty and became very upset. He stood
beside the lifeless body of the bunny with his head bowed low and his arms held
behind his back. I am going to stop
here for a moment….We’ll get back to that story a little later.
What
I want you to focus on are the Disciples of Jesus. They were brokenhearted. After being arrested in the Garden of
Gethsemene… Jesus was taken through a series of illegal trials. He was taken before the Jewish High Priests
Annas & Caiaphas. Then He appeared
before the Jewish Sanhedrin. They passed
Jesus on to Pilate, the Roman Governor. Pilate
did not want any part of this so he sent Jesus on to Herod Antipas, the Roman
appointed king. Herod sent Jesus back to
Pilate. Jesus was scourged…and then
handed over to be crucified. He was
nailed to a cross. For 6 hours Jesus
hung there in excruciating pain. Around
3:00 that afternoon…
Jesus
spoke the words: “It is finished”…and Jesus was dead. His dead body was placed
in a tomb! Most of the Disciples did not
witness these events. Why? Because in they forsook Him and fled
according to Mark 14:50. We are told in
John 19: 25-26 that John witnessed part of this. “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His
mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing
by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" So John and some of the women who followed
Jesus…witnessed the crucifixion.
We
are told that after Jesus was condemned to die..Judas went out and committed
suicide. Where were James, Matthew, Philip, Nathanael, Thomas, Bartholomew,
Andrew, Thaddeus, Jand Simon the zealot?
Luke 23:49 says: But all His
acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance,
watching these things. So perhaps the
rest of Jesus’ Disciples saw it, too. When the disciples saw that Jesus had
been crucified…their hopes, dreams, and plans were crushed. They believed that
it was just as Jesus said on the cross.“It is finished.” All their hopes had
died with Jesus! But let me tell
you…..death is not the end.
DEATH HAS BEEN
CONQUERED!
Jesus
was dead. The disciples knew that. Experts checked that. In John 19:32-33 we are told, “Then the
soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was
crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already
dead, they did not break His legs. The
Roman executioners knew when a body was dead.
Make no mistake! Jesus was dead!
So Jesus was placed in a tomb. The
tomb was sealed and a guard set too watch it.
It seemed that death had won! But
death could not hold Him and the Tomb could not contain Him. Death met its match! Oh…Jesus allowed His enemies to win for
awhile.For 3 days and nights..Jesus looked like a loser! But Jesus got up!n He
arose. Death has been defeated!
My
second point this morning is that CHRISTIANS
HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR! 1 Cor.
15:20-21 says, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by
Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ all shall be made alive. When Jesus died, His followers became a
frightened, confused bunch. But that, too, would soon come to an end. Matthew
28:5-6 - 5 But the angel answered
and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus
who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the
place where the Lord lay. So, the women were shown the proof that
Jesus was not dead! Matthew 28:8 -So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy,
and ran to bring His disciples word. Peter and John came to see the empty tomb. So
we can assume that the word got around that Jesus was alive! But
9 of the Disciples have yet to see Him! That, too, would change! The
disciples were afraid and hiding behind locked doors! But Jesus knew where they
were hiding. He went to be with
them. I
need to check back in with our Easter Bunny story. It appears that a woman driving down the same
highway saw the man standing on the side of the road and pulled over. She
stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong" I feel
terrible," he explained. "I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny and
killed him. There may not be an Easter because of me. What should I do?" So
let me ask you this morning….What do you fear?
Maybe you’re a fearless person. You
could get on a wild mustang and try to ride it!
Well, be honest now, what do you fear?
Is it death? I used to be afraid
of death…but not anymore! Do you fear
the unknown? Are you afraid of the
Future? Well guess what…..Jesus has the
answer: Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Do you fear standing
before God in judgment? Jesus has taken
our judgment: John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall
not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. My heavenly Father has my hand….He is in
control. When I feel the fear bug
creeping into my heart I remember the words in Psalm. 23:4."Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou
art with me; The good news from the tomb
is: "Fear not! Take courage. I
know you are dying to see how the Easter Bunny story comes out….well, The woman
told the man not to worry. She knew exactly what to do. She went to her car
trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp dead bunny, and
sprayed the entire contents of the can onto the little furry animal.
Miraculously the Easter Bunny came back to life, jumped up, picked up the
spilled eggs and candy, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped on down the
road. 50 yards away the Easter Bunny stopped, turned around, waved and hoped on
down the road another 50 yards, turned waved, hopped another 50 yards and waved
again! This continued until the Easter Bunny was out of sight….but no ending
just yet…. It’s
Easter Midway….and HOPE HAS BEEN REVIVED! Jesus’
disciples were feeling hopeless, gloomy, miserable-until they realized that
Jesus was alive. And then their hope was
restored! The Resurrection gives
hope. I know right now….Easter Sunday
2016 that my Redeemer lives, And He shall
stand at last on the earth; The resurrection of Jesus calms those who, standing
by the grave of a loved one, asking the question, "Will we meet
again?" Let me remind you….If death
were the final word, then we Christians have no hope. Would
you like to know how Easter Bunny story came out?...well the man was
astonished. How did she bring the Easter Bunny back to life? Finally he said to
the woman, "What in heaven’s name is in your spray can?" The woman
turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said: "Hair
Spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave." The Easter Bunny….fact or fiction….The
Ressurection….Eternal Life….Hope….you can bank on that.
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