Beware of Easter!

Beware of Easter! Why should we say that? Easter is normally thought of as a time of great joy and celebration. But Easter has two ideas built into it. First, there is the promise of salvation to all who believe in the gospel, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that as a result of Christ’s work, those who believe in him no longer need fear death, judgment, and hell. Such people rejoice that their sins are forgiven, their guilt wiped out, and their hell taken away. But the second promise found in Easter is God’s threat of divine damnation of anyone who refuses to believe the Easter message. In Acts 17:30-31 Paul tells how God commands all people to repent “for he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man [Jesus Christ] he has appointed.” Easter guarantees the fulfillment of this judgment: “He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

“Let Us Break Their Chains”

What happened on the first Easter? During the third year of his ministry on earth, Jesus faced increasing hostility from the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish people. In Psalm 2 we read a description of this: “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.'” This hatred and rebellion against the Lord’s Anointed received its final fulfillment through trickery. Jesus was betrayed by Judas, arrested in Gethsemane and quickly brought to trial.

During his trial, Jesus acknowledged under oath to the high priest the truth that he was the Christ, the Son of God. But he also prophesied his ascension into heaven and his glorious second coming to judge the world. For this the Sanhedrin condemned him to death, and he was brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Although he found Jesus innocent, Pilate condemned him to death. At his trial those present had spit on Jesus’s face, struck him with their fists, and slapped and mocked him. After Pilate condemned him, the Roman soldiers stripped Jesus and put a crown of thorns on his head. Then they also spat on him and struck him repeatedly on the head with a rod. They led him to Golgotha where they crucified him. From the cross Jesus cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani –My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” and then died. Jesus was the Lamb of God who gave his life as a ransom for many, just as he had promised, and in his death he finished the work that the Father gave him to do in behalf of us.

When Jesus died, there was darkness and an earthquake. The judgment of God came upon the temple, and the curtain was torn from top to bottom. At these events, even the hard-hearted Roman centurion was terrified and forced to confess, “Surely he was the Son of God.” To ensure that Jesus had died, a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, and blood and water poured out. Two men, Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man, and Nicodemus, a secret disciple and member of the Sanhedrin, then took Jesus’ body and buried it in a new tomb.

All these horrible events were observed by Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had driven out many devils, and some other women from Galilee who had ministered to the needs of Jesus. These women loved Jesus dearly and would not leave him. They stayed near him while he suffered on the cross, they watched Nicodemus and Joseph bury him in the tomb, and they made plans to come again Easter morning to anoint his body. They did all this out of love for Jesus. Where were the male disciples? Only John is mentioned being near the cross, and then we see him disappearing. All the others had gone away, just as Jesus had predicted: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (Matt. 26:31).

After Jesus died, the leaders of the Jews were rejoicing. They had finally disposed of Jesus, who to them was a troublemaker and deceiver of the people. They were aware that Jesus had predicted that he would rise from the dead on the third day, and so, although they did not believe his prediction, they sealed Jesus’s tomb and secured a twenty-four-hour guard from the Roman government to ensure that the disciples would not steal Jesus’s body and claim that he had risen from the dead. The tomb was closed with a huge circular stone and sealed with the authority of the Roman empire. The Jewish leaders then went home to celebrate. Their nation was at peace.

“The One Enthroned in Heaven Laughs”

The authorities had done everything they could. They had secured the tomb and settled the question of Jesus Christ, the blasphemer. They were sure he would stay in the tomb and rot while they told everyone what a liar he was. But there was one problem with their plan. In Matthew 27 we see what man did, throwing off divine chains. But in the Greek text Matthew 28 begins with the word “but,” and in Psalm 2 we read why Matthew inserted that “but”: “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” This One who dwells in heaven laughs and mocks man’s stupid attempts of rebellion.

Matthew 28:1 should be translated “But after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week. . .” God in heaven was laughing at all the plans of the authorities. They thought they had triumphed over Jesus by killing him, but this was all God’s plan. From all eternity it was the divine decree that the Son of God would die, be buried, and on the third day be raised from the dead to secure the salvation of his elect. When Jesus spoke of his suffering and death in Luke 24:7, 25-27, 44-46 you read the Greek word dei –the divine must–three times. It speaks of this divine necessity, divine purpose, divine decree and divine ordination.

Jesus had clearly spoken about his death, burial and resurrection many times. He said that he would be crucified by the religious and secular authorities. He predicted that it would happen on the Passover in Jerusalem. He predicted that he would rise again on the third day. He predicted that he would see his disciples in Galilee after his resurrection. So God was not surprised by his Son’s death at the hand of his enemies. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was God’s decree. It is the gospel. It is what makes Jesus our Savior.

So Matthew 27 leaves us with the question of whether the eternal decree of God be fulfilled or if the high priests, elders, and Satan have the last word, and God’s will was fulfilled. According to the idea of the uniformity of operation of natural law, every man will die but not rise from the dead. Jesus was a man who died, and that should have been the end of it. But there is a divine “but” to all of this, and that is what we see in Matthew 28. After all the activities of man in defiance of his anointed Son Jesus Christ, God acted. Man proposes but God disposes.

God Acts

Not knowing what the authorities had done, some pious women including Mary Magdalene got up early the day after the Sabbath and went to anoint Jesus’ body. Now, sometime after the burial of Jesus an angel of the Lord had come down from heaven, and in Matthew 28:2 we read “there was a violent earthquake.” Why? This was God’s time for action. Man’s time was over. Men had killed God’s Son, buried him, sealed his tomb and set a guard over it, but now God was acting, speaking in this great earthquake. From heaven you could hear the mocking laughter of God.

According to the Father’s command, the angel arrived in Jerusalem and made his way to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. He broke the seal of the Roman empire, lifted the huge stone, threw it on the ground and sat on it. Oh, hear the laughter of God! Did the angel do this to let Jesus out of the tomb? No. Jesus had already risen from the dead. His resurrection body is glorious, immortal, imperishable, honorable, full of power, and able to go through material obstacles like stones and closed doors. So the angel was not letting Jesus out of the tomb. Instead, he opened the tomb as a mockery of man’s stupid attempt to thwart the work of God, and also to enable Christ’s loyal friends see that for the first time in history, a tomb had become empty. Christ had been resurrected from the dead as decreed by God from all eternity and as Christ himself predicted again and again.

What happened to the Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb? We read that they trembled with fear and fell down like dead men. Hear the laughter of heaven! So when the women came, the angel spoke to them. In the Greek it says, “You, don’t be afraid,” and the word “you” is emphasized. The angel understood why the women were there, and he wanted to reassure them. You see, Easter is a threat to any person who rebels against God Almighty, and those people must be afraid. But to those who believe in Jesus Christ, Easter is a wonderful promise.

He Has Risen!

The angel told the women: Don’t be afraid. I know you are loyal friends of Jesus. I know that you are his disciples and ministers, who followed him from Galilee, and were there when he was crucified. I know that you were there when he was buried, and are here now to anoint his dead body. I know you were wondering who would remove the stone, although, as you can see, the stone has been removed. I know you are seeking Jesus who was crucified.

Then the angel made this great proclamation: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” Now, if you go to any cemetery, you will not find these words written anywhere. You will only read “Here lies so-and-so” on every headstone and tomb. But here is one tomb where it is stated, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

Just as Jesus said! It is simply amazing that not even one of his disciples, male or female, had believed the prophecies Christ spoke regarding his resurrection. But in spite of their unbelief, the angel told the women, “Come and see the place where he lay.” What did they see? An open tomb. Strips of linen placed in an orderly fashion. But something was missing. Jesus was not there. Why? He had been raised, just as he said. So the angel instructed the women, “Go quickly and tell his disciples.”

The Fearful Disciples

Where were the eleven male disciples? They were hiding. They did not believe the word of God, and so they were fearful and depressed. Among them was Simon Peter, who had just denied Jesus three times. But the angel commissioned the women to go to these disciples and proclaim to them that Jesus had been raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, for the joy of his people and to the shame and damnation of all those who resist his will.

This is the gospel: Christ died, Christ was buried, and Christ rose from the dead. Because of this, Jesus is the Savior. This is why the angel could tell the women with such certainty not to be afraid. It was not because he was an angel, powerful and mighty enough to remove the stone. No, not even a powerful angel can remove our fears. The basis of our fear is sin, Satan, death, judgment, and hell, and only the risen Son of God can deal with those.

The angel proclaimed the gospel to the women, told them to come and see, and then go and tell the disciples that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee, just as he said. You see, Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), and what he promises, he fulfills. Jesus Christ predicted that he would die, be buried, and be raised from the dead on the third day. We have all confidence that every word he said is true, which includes the promise of his coming again and judging everyone who does not believe in him.

The Cure for Fear

The women left the tomb with fear and great joy. It was not great fear and joy, but fear and great joy. They still had some lingering fear, but it was not great. What gave them such great joy? I am sure they were thinking about what the angel had said, and were saying to themselves,”It is true. Christ lives! He was right. Remember, he said he would rise from the dead on the third day? This is the third day, and the tomb is empty. Jesus is risen! He has conquered death forever.” That was the cause for their great joy.

When Jesus was born, angels said the same thing: “We bring you good news of great joy.” That received its fulfillment in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What a time for celebration! The cure of fear is the gospel. Only God can say to us, “Fear not,” because only God can deal with the cause of our fear, which is sin. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, whenever God comes to his people, we see him saying, “Fear not, fear not, fear not.” What is the basis of this “Fear not”? It is the gospel. Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25). The source of fear and sorrow is death, but the source of courage and great joy is the good news that Christ has conquered our death forever for us. Only the gospel removes our fear forever–fear of sin, fear of Satan, fear of death, fear of judgment, fear of hell, and fear of damnation.

In verse 8 we read an interesting statement: the women ran to tell the disciples, in obedience to the angel’s words. The gospel gives you great joy, and puts a bounce into your feet. The gospel truly lifts your spirits. Yes, they still had some fear, but also great joy. And as they were running, Matthew says, Idou -meaning, “Behold, look!” What did the women see? Jesus. Oh, if you are fearful, meeting an angel will not be sufficient. You will still have fear. But if you want to deal with all of your fears, you must finally meet Jesus himself. Behold, there was Jesus!

In the Greek we read that Jesus greeted them with the word Kairete . Now, some people would translate this as a more casual greeting like “Hello” or “Hi.” Judas Iscariot used the same word in Matthew 26:49, greeting Jesus as he was in the act of betraying him. But I do not translate Christ’s word kairete as “Hi!” I am going to give its full meaning, which is what? Rejoice! Rejoice! Be not afraid, Jesus is saying. And I am sure at that moment all the residual, lingering fears of the women evaporated. They received strength from the living Christ.

The text says they went to him, clasped his feet, and worshiped him. The women recognized Jesus Christ as King, as Deity, worthy of all worship and adoration. They fell down and must have kissed his feet. In the ancient Near East, vassals sometimes kissed the feet of the suzerain (the great king) to express their worship and submission. King Cyrus stated that people came with tribute and kissed his feet. But here was the King of kings and Lord of lords! The women were worshiping Jesus, the risen King, God. They believed the gospel. The apostles did not believe what the women said, but these women believed the gospel. Their fear was driven out by the gospel of the risen Christ, so they rejoiced and worshiped him.

What about the disciples? The gospel record says that the women’s report sounded like nonsense to them. They continued to be fearful, depressed, and afraid until later that day when they themselves met the risen Christ. Thomas was not there, and had to wait another week to come into this glorious joy.

Covering-up the Resurrection

Jesus was raised from the dead. In Acts 2:23-24 Peter said, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” The authorities didn’t just arrest Jesus on their own. He was handed over by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge. “And God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

Just as the authorities tried to seal the tomb and stop people from believing in Christ, people today are still trying to cover up the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Why? Sin manifests itself in unbelief. Haven’t you heard the lies of sinful man? Some say that Jesus was stolen by his disciples; or that he just swooned on the cross, and in the cool air of the tomb he revived, forced open the stone, came out, and disappeared–no one knows where. Others say that the women, misty-eyed from weeping, came to the wrong tomb where a young man told them, “He is not here,” meaning it was not his tomb. Others say that those who saw Jesus after his resurrection were hallucinating. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 St. Paul says that the living Jesus met with five hundred people in Galilee but unbelievers would say that all five hundred were hallucinating at the same time. And the most modern theory of those who would cover up truth is that the resurrected Christ was just a vision–that all the reports of his resurrection were self-induced visions, based on no objective reality. But if any of these stories were true, I wonder why the authorities did not produce the body of Christ. If they had done so, they could have stopped the rise of Christianity right then and there.

Like the chief priests and elders, people today continue to suppress the greatest truth ever told and the greatest event that ever happened in time and space–the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why? Why will a person believe in everything but the resurrection? The reason, Paul says, is that “the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God.” Such a person does not compute God’s truth. There is a deliberate rejection of truth–“for [it is] foolishness to him, and he cannot understand [it] because [it is] spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 1:14).

Sin Suppresses Truth

In Romans 1 we are told that sinful man is ever engaged in the suppression and cover-up of truth by his or her own wickedness. We also read in Romans 1 that man is exchanging truth for a lie continually. In Romans 8 Paul says the sinful mind is hostile to God and does not submit to God’s law, nor can it. Sinful man is totally unable to receive, embrace, and believe the gospel because Satan has blinded his understanding.

If you do not believe the gospel, please do not blame women with misty eyes. The problem is the mist in the depth of your heart. Paul says you are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1). In Luke 16 Jesus himself told of a rich man who wanted someone to rise from the dead and declare to his brothers that there is a hell. What did Jesus say? “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,” meaning the Scriptures, “they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

I used to think that a miracle was necessary to force me to believe and confess, but it doesn’t happen that way. Jesus did rise from the dead. Even when Jesus was on the cross, some said that if he came down, they would believe. But when the soldiers reported that the tomb was empty and Jesus had come out, did the authorities believe? No. They gave the soldiers a large amount of money and told them to say that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body. And I presume that the rulers also had to give money to Pilate to silence him.

We think we will believe if only evidence is given to us. But Jesus did rise from the dead. The risen Christ appeared to many people, even to five hundred at one time. He appeared to a very intelligent, highly educated enemy of the gospel–Saul of Tarsus. Saul was chosen by God, and this intelligent Jew, by God’s mercy, changed his mind, believed in Christ, and became one of the greatest defenders of the Easter message. But only when the Spirit of God takes away the hostility, blindness, and deadness of the human heart, can one believe in the resurrection of Christ. No miracle necessarily will cause a person to believe. If you believe the gospel, it is because God has enabled you to believe the truth and glory in it.

The Threat of Easter

What is the threat of Easter? There is a day coming–a day of judgment–when everyone will believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as every word of the Scripture. Those who have denied God’s word will believe in the virgin birth, in miracles, in creation–in everything they have denied from God’s word.

When Paul spoke of the resurrection of Christ to the Athenians, they sneered at him. They were the scientists of their day, and they mocked his message, saying that after a man died, he could never rise from the dead physically. The Athenians did believe in the immortality of souls, but they laughed, sneered, and mocked as Paul spoke about physical resurrection.

But Paul told the Athenians–these philosophers, scientists, materialists, educators and semi-wise rationalists–that God “has set a day when he will judge the world with justice,” meaning he will judge every sinner of every sin “by the man he has appointed.” And then he told this august body of people, “He has given proof of this [coming judgment] to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

If you are not a Christian who loves Christ, you should be aware of this. Christ’s resurrection is the proof that God will judge you and damn you for your sin, for your mocking of Christ and his gospel, for your writing articles and books which poke fun at the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, or however else you expressed your unbelief.

It is appointed for man once to die, and it is appointed for man to be judged after his death (Heb. 9:27). God has appointed a judge, Jesus Christ, and God has appointed proof. In the resurrection of Christ, God has given a warning to all men. Christ told his disciples to go into all the world to preach the gospel, because everyone is be told about this singular, stupendous, historical fact. To some this gospel will be the fragrance of life, but to others it will be the stench of death.

Beware of Easter!

I warn you, beware of Easter! After the Easter egg hunts and all the celebrating, you should go home, weep, and tremble. You can believe every lie and make more lies. You can write books about lies, produce more religions or more gods. But beware of Easter! Either Easter will bring you great joy by driving out all your fears or Easter will bring you great fear of sure and certain judgment by the risen Christ.

To those who believe the gospel, this risen Christ says, Weep not! Fear not! Rejoice, because in my death, burial, and resurrection, your sins are forgiven, your guilt has been wiped out, and your hell has been taken away. But to those who do not believe, he says, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17,18). You have to deal with him first, and then you have to deal with him last. He will be there on the day of judgment. You may think that you will finally get away with everything by dying, but no, Jesus will call you. He who was raised from the dead will raise you up. He holds the keys of death and Hades.

You can believe or not believe. It is my prayer that the Spirit of the living God will enable you to believe. Then you will rejoice with Mary Magdalene, the disciples, and the vast, innumerable multitude of the elect people of God who sing, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever.” Amen.