Easter Text Message

An Easter Sermon from Viroqua Nazarene. Click Here for the podcast of this message.

“He is Risen.” “New Phone. Who Dis?”

It’s Easter Sunday. People rushing around, dressing up in colorful outfits, going to lunch with their extended families. One would hope they would find themselves in a church, at some point. But why?

To the right of your screen, you have a picture of a phone, and a text message conversation is displayed. We might text our friend “He is Risen.” The historical Easter liturgical greeting. A Christian who is also aware of this “secret password” would respond by saying “He is Risen, indeed.” But what if your friend doesn’t know of this tradition? What if you sent that to the wrong number? They don’t know you and they say, “New Phone Who Dis?” 

Would you know how to tell them about Easter, why we celebrate it and why Jesus SO important?

Through this blog post, we will unlock the purpose of Easter and how we might concisely share that with someone. Perhaps even in a brief text message. 

Easter. WOO!

There is so much excitement about Easter! If you just walk around a department store you will see colorful displays, baskets, bunnies, eggs, and candy, candy, CANDY! And it’s no wonder the Church has lost its influence on the world stage. The unchurched see the commercialism of this holiday and wrap us up in it. 

Why all the hubbub? All the excitement? Why is there a sudden celebration? 

• Why?

Our response has nothing to do with candies, eggs, bunnies or baskets. It’s about Jesus. 

I asked my daughter, Gianna, to explain why we celebrate Easter but make it fit on a Bumper sticker. Make it complete, yet concise. Here is what she said: “Because Jesus is alive. The end.”

That’s right, Jesus is Alive! A whole holiday – holy Day, to celebrate the alive-ness of …Jesus? That’s all great and stuff, but…

• Who?
  • What if our friend or acquaintance, this random person we’re texting with doesn’t know who Jesus is? Or maybe they know the stories. They’ve heard about the birthday celebration – Christmas (Christ’s Mass) But they don’t know Jesus personally…like you or I might know Jesus. What would you say to that? How would you respond to the Question, “Who is Jesus?” Where would you start?

Use the poll below. Choose some options or make your own.

Those are the three options are the ones I came up with. What did your bumper sticker say? Leave a comment below.

Your explaination is so concise, you could even send it in a text message.

You might miss some of the deep theological weight to these declarations, but hey! At least you got the conversation started with these very basic beliefs about Jesus and salvation. What if they need more. Elaborate… 

Son of God. Sacrifice for our sins?

• How does that work?

They ask how? The How is…Jesus. He is the only Way, Truth, and Life

In John 14:5-6 Jesus is talking to his followers, his disciples – telling them he is going to prepare a place for them. This he is referring to Heaven. But they don’t really pick up on it. Verse 5:

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

Jesus is the Way. People will ask “Well don’t all religions basically teach the same thing? Good people go to a good place after death, bad people go to a bad place after death?”

The answer is no. They don’t all teach the same thing.

To understand what Jesus was saying about being the only way, truth and life…let’s take a look at 3 instances where he taught and demonstrated this about himself.

Way – Luke 24:13-35

In Luke 24, we have an amazing interchange between two of Christ’s followers and He himself. 

This is after his death and resurrection, but these disciples don’t recognize Jesus.  

As the three of them walk to Emmaus, they tell Jesus the sad news.

20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Luke 24:13-35 NIV

As Jesus walked that road with those disciples, he was there for them – but not to comfort: to correct. Along the way, he listens to our woes, but he doesn’t leave us there. He course-corrects. 

Back to our Bumper sticker: Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus is The ONLY Way To God.      That can be a tough thing to accept. 

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Sidebar: I think that’s why it’s easier for most folks to associate this holy-day with images of Spring. Baby birds, flowers, pastel colors, candy. Those things don’t tell you you’re wrong. They are just there to be looked at and enjoyed. They actually don’t care if the path you're on is right or not. 

Jesus Cares. He cared so much that he came to be The Way for a world that would reject him any Way.

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In a moment we get into the “truth” section. I’m about to hit you with something untrue. 

• all religions (religions being defined as understandings and practices about things related to God and eternity) point to the same God, same eternity (thereby the way you get there doesn’t really matter) This is demonstrably false.
• Example: If you get in your car and drive South on 14, you could be making great time – catching all the green lights on main, clear – no slow trucks or farm equipment. But if your destination is Westby…you are heading the wrong way! In the end, it doesn’t matter how efficient it seemed, you did not end up going the right way.

So, Jesus, Son of God died for the sins of the World. He made a Way for us to the Father.

As we get into the topic of “truth” it all too often has air quotes around it. 

Truth – Matthew 28:11-15; John 18:36-39

2 stories. One true by observation and personal experience, the other concocted to mask the truth.

In Matthew 28:11-15 Soldiers tell the Truth to the religious leaders and the leaders pay them to lie or tell the “truth.”

The fact they had to lie is confirmation of the Truth. Empty tomb. Jesus’ body gone. Angels and bright light. Scared soldiers. They wouldn’t need to be bribed and protected from their higher ups if that’s what they actually experienced.

Today we live in a world of two truths.

Truth (capital “T”) authoritative, final, not up for argument or discussion. Whether you believe in it or not, it is true.

I’d like to summarize my friend, Terry:

The statement, ‘there is no such thing as absolute truth’ is in of itself a statement of absolute truth. Thereby the speaker of such claim doesn’t believe what he is saying.

Similar to people who are all about tolerance, but the only thing they can’t tolerate is intolerant people and beliefs. You can’t be somewhat tolerant, you’re either all in, or you aren’t. 

“truth” with a lowercase ‘t’ may refer to the ways people express their own feelings and opinions. These are not Truth in the eternal sense. (Share your truth. This is my truth…)

Pilate, when questioning Jesus, inquires if Jesus considers himself the King of the Jews. Jesus asks Pilate if he came up with that question on his own…(kind of a ‘burn’) Pilate lashes back and asks Jesus why he’s even been brought before him. He’s asking for a confession, or at least an understanding of the charges.

36Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

37“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

38“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

Today we have messed up our understanding of truth. Ever since the 90’s we can’t be sure what the meaning of the word “is” is. Let alone words such as compassionate, wise, man or even the word woman. That last one even stumped a Supreme Court nominee.

But Jesus is unchanging. He is steadfast. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. 

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32 NIV

Jesus, the Son of God. Died for our sins.  – Whether we believe it or not, it is true. He made a way for us through his sacrifice.

That brings us to the Life part of “the Way, Truth, and the Life.”

Life – John 20:24-31

“…that you may have life in His name.”

In John chapter 20, Jesus is doing the “Show” part of Show and Tell with his disciples. After the Resurrection, He appears to Mary Magdalene, proving he’s alive. He appears to his disciples in a locked room. He showed them his hands and his side. More evidence of his alive-ness. He went so far to breathe on them, telling them to “receive” his Holy Spirit.

A week later, Jesus appears to the disciples again in a similar situation. Doors locked but here he was! In the Flesh! And Thomas, who wasn’t there a week earlier for some reason, got his own personal meet-and-greet with his risen Lord!

Jesus greeted the disciples:

“ ‘Peace be with you!’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ ” 

(John 20:26b-27 NIV)

Right after Thomas gets his proof verse 29:

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Verses 30-31 I really want to focus here for a moment. John writes this about his written account.

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these 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.

In Jesus’ name, we may have LIFE. There is sickness and pain in this world, but physically and spiritually, these can fade away as we trust in Jesus to be our life. 

The cross was a brutal death. Jesus suffered there – and of course suffered being whipped prior to crucifixion. He held out as long as he needed to and then he gave up his spirit. He died.

But the reason we are able to celebrate Easter, the reason it’s about Jesus and not a bunny, is because Jesus was resurrected from the dead. This amazing act was his nail in the coffin of Death!

Hosea 13:14

“I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;

    I will redeem them from death.

Where, O death, are your plagues?

    Where, O grave, is your destruction?

Or perhaps you are more familiar with 1 Corinthians 15:55

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

Both of these translations say to us a sort of smack-talk to death. A little context reveals the translation here was influenced by the Septuigent, or Greek old testament. But interesting enough the New King James Version translates it like this.

“O Death, I will be your plagues!

O Grave, I will be your destruction!” (from Hosea 13:14 NKJV)

It’s not just that the grave and death have no power, but the Powerful one, THE LIFE is also the destruction of these enemies of Life. The one who is The Life takes an aggressive tone with them.

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What’s Easter all about? Can you summarize it to a bumper sticker? Could you put it in a brief text message?

Jesus is Alive. 
He is the Way, Truth and Life.
He is Risen. He is Risen, indeed.

Christianity does not exist apart from the Resurrection. If not for the Resurrection of Jesus, we wouldn’t have the other main Christian holy-day – celebrating his Birth. Christ saved us through his sacrifice. That was his mission. That is why he was born, meek and mild. In a lowly stable, God came. On a pole of disgrace, God died. In a borrowed tomb His body laid. And on that day his work was done, he rose to life and still lives today.

That is what Easter is all about.

How will you choose to share that good news?