And these are reasonable ambitions. But they show how we human beings desperately try to hold on this present world with no regard for the backdrop of eternity.
    

This is why Easter lives in the shadows of other holidays on the calendar. Compared to Christmas, Easter hardly makes an appearance. Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day draw more attention than Easter. And even when Easter is recognized in our culture, it’s reduced to bunnies, eggs, candy and new clothes. It seems we would rather hold on to the things of this world and this life than to prepare for the world and life to come.
   
Yet, the resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal event in human history and for our lives. Easter is essential to the Christian faith. In fact, we wouldn’t be here in this sanctuary this morning without it. Our salvation and faith stands or falls with the resurrection of Christ. Ours is not just one more religion or philosophy in the long list of creeds and cultures. Ours is not merely a set of morals or the teachings of a religious leader. Authentic Christianity is a personal encounter and relationship with the living God. The risen Lord Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. The resurrection proclaims the meaning and message of the life and death of Jesus, the powerful triumph over sin and evil. It tells us that God came, took away the sins of all who trust in him, and invites us to live in the freedom of forgiveness and new life in his love.
    

One thing is certain. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, we would never have heard of him. There were many rabbis, messiahs, religious and philosophy teachers in the ancient world. Few of us today could name any of them and none of them had the sweeping influence of Jesus Christ on our world. The greatest testimony to the resurrection is that we are here this morning.
    

The resurrection declares that truth is stronger than falsehood. Good is stronger than evil. Love is more powerful than hatred. And life is greater than death. The resurrection is the most important voice, then, for telling us how to live, what to believe, where to place our trust.
    

The apostle Peter, one of the many eyewitnesses to the risen Lord, put it this way at the beginning of his letter to the early church. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The apostle John also was there. He saw Jesus die on the cross. He was there when the risen Lord stood among them. Thomas saw the nail marks in his hands, put his hand in the wound in Jesus’ side and said, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John says, “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (that’s all in John 20).

The resurrection is recorded in all four gospels. Each brings a different perspective and emphasizes different things for different reasons. But there’s a common account with its essential message.

1) The resurrection took place on the first day of the week – Sunday – fulfilling Jesus’ promise that he would rise on the third day (Friday – Saturday – Sunday).

2) Mary Magdalene was among the first to arrive at the empty tomb.

3) The huge stone had been moved and Jesus was not in the tomb.

4) An angel, a messenger from God was there on Mary’s arrival.

5) The disciples were completely skeptical at first. But once Jesus came and appeared before them, they too believed.
    

Easter urged the first disciples as well as us today to believe. The astounding fact of life over death is true. “Don’t be afraid. Jesus, who was crucified, has risen.” Then Easter urges us to share. “Go quickly and tell.” When you discover faith in the risen Lord, the living Christ, there’s an overwhelming need to tell others. Such good news is wonderful and freeing. The urge to share it itself validates its reality. And then Easter urges us to rejoice. In the face of any problem in this world and with any struggle in this life, the Lord gives us a joy for living and loving in our resurrection faith.

Where the gospels relate the facts of Jesus’ resurrection, the apostle Peter and the other New Testament writers interpret the significance for our faith.
    

Negatively, if the resurrection didn’t happen, our preaching is in vain. Any attempt to do good in this world (to feed the hungry, care for the environment, develop community) is temporarily helpful but ultimately worthless. Because we are still in our sins, unredeemed, guilty before God, and deserving of condemnation and death. Just look at the world without Christ! Sin and death, hatred and conflict, godless inhumanity and repressive power reign.
    

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. “We have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. In all this you greatly rejoice.” Positively stated, since the resurrection is real, it gives us “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,” as the hymn sings it. Jesus’ redemptive sacrifice and saving resurrection undid what Adam’s sin (and ours) did. We also have hope for those who have lived and died with faith in Christ. The resurrection can also inspire us to be patient with and endure trying circumstances. We know we’ll live forever with the Lord and be fulfilled in a life of serving and loving one another. The resurrection also inspires us to be steadfast and diligent in God’s work. It gives us reason to tell others about Jesus Christ, the Lord of life.

Easter is absolutely central to your Christian faith. This Christian life is not only a life of knowing about Jesus, the way we would study philosophers like Plato or Aristotle, military leaders like Caesar or Napoleon, great scientists like Marie Curie or Thomas Edison. This life of faith is also knowing Jesus because he is alive and with us.
    

If you’ve met the risen Christ by faith, renew your joy in the Lord this morning in this time of worship. Then go and tell someone about the saving grace found in the resurrection. If you’ve not yet met Jesus, the living Savior, I encourage you to pray. Allow the stirrings of your heart and head to converse with God. Trust in the Easter message.
    

“I heard two soldiers talking/ As they came down the hill/ The somber hill of Calvary/ Bleak and black and still/ And one said, ‘The night is late/ These thieves take a long time to die’/ And one said, ‘I am so afraid/ And yet I know not why.’
    

“I heard two women weeping/ As down the hill they came/ And one was like a broken rose/ And one was like a flame/ One said, ‘They shall regret/ This deed their hands have done’/ And one said only through her tears/ ‘My son, my son.’
    

“I heard two angels singing/ Before the dawn was bright/ And they were clothed in shining robes/ Robes and crowns of light/ And one sang, ‘Death is vanquished’/ And one in golden voice sang/ ‘Love has conquered, conquered all/ O heaven and earth rejoice.”
    

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!                  Let us pray together.