Relatable, Confusing, & True – Easter 2026

In this message, I wanted to revisit a sermon I preached a number of years ago, but possibly you did hear. In the Spring of 2020, we were in the early stages of the Covid pandemic and our state Governor shut down public gatherings, including church services. It wasn’t until the State supreme court overruled that order, that we resumed in person worship. Our church decided to purchase airtime on the local radio station so this message could get out there, but hey…it’s been 6 years!

At that time we were in a series about the Apostles’ creed, which in a moment, we will read together (#8 in your hymnal). We discovered a lot along the way and today’s message focuses on last three lines of the creed..

In a moment, we will read the Apostles’ Creed together, which is #8 in the Nazarene hymnal. If you learned a different version, that’s totally fine. Before we do, let’s pray.

PRAY

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

Born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead and buried;

He descended into hades;

the third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Church universal,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

The Resurrection of the Body

Just as Jesus was made alive, we believe we will be too.

16. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, that the bodies both of the just and of the unjust shall be raised to life and united with their spirits — “They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (Nazarene Manual Article of Faith 16)

Luke 24:1-12

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

The Message of Easter

1. Relatable

This morning, I want to paint a picture for you and take you on a journey. One we each can relate to. This journey starts in a graveyard. You may have a painfully fresh memory of a graveyard. Perhaps you have lost someone you love this year, maybe more than one person. As you walk to the headstone, marking the resting place of their remains, you hardly notice your surroundings. The grass. The flowers. The trees. The curated surroundings. They serve a purpose. But you don’t focus on them. Just the grave.

As you stand over that grave, perhaps you place a flower on the casket. Maybe you drop it into the hole where the casket has been lowered. You think of all you will miss out with that very important person. You think of all the things you can’t say to them now that they are gone. Perhaps you do whisper a few words, addressing the deceased. Hoping they can hear you, but maybe it’s for your own benefit. A conversation you wished you had before they had died. Greif. Pain. Regret. Anger. Sorrow. Normal feelings when working through the loss of someone dear to you. 

If you haven’t tuned out, thanks. It’s not often that we look at the Easter story and begin with sorrow and sadness. Usually we jump to the triumph and miraculous resurrection of Jesus. But if we don’t journey down this road of grief, we won’t fully appreciate the tremendous lengths God went through to give us the promise of new life. 

I’ve got 3 things to share with you today about what the Easter Story is.

The story is relatable.

Grief, pain and sorrow. Humankind can all identify with it.

We can’t have the resurrection without death. The trial and crucifixion of Jesus can be found in the last couple chapters of each gospel account. With Luke, for example, it starts with Judas’ betrayal of Jesus in Luke 22 and concludes with Jesus’ death in Chapter 23. The part we can relate to is the burial. However, the part that seems strange is there was no special service. No music. No mahogany casket accented with gold inlay. No specially crafted headstone, marking Jesus’ resting place. The ritziest part of the funeral was the people who handled Jesus’ burial.

Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy and well connected. He served on the council who accused and sent Jesus to Pilate. It’s noted in Luke 23:51 that Joseph did not consent to the conviction of Jesus. He might have well openly disagreed with this sham of a trial. We don’t know. We just know he was not on the winning side of the argument.

This man, with his wealth and influence, was “waiting for the kingdom of God.” He used his influence and wealth to secure the body of Jesus. To prepare him for burial and to lay Jesus’ body in a tomb he had purchased for himself. This tomb was new. Not one had ever been laid to rest there before.

Whether Joseph was a follower or became one later, we don’t really know. The bible doesn’t say. But he does what he believes is right. John 19:38-42 gives us more details. Joseph wasn’t alone in this. He was joined by Nicodemus. The one who Jesus famously tells, “You must be born again!” The two men lay Jesus’ body to rest. No Amazing Grace playing on the bagpipes. No visitation hour. In fact, those closest to Jesus wanted to anoint his body, but couldn’t because the sabbath was beginning that evening.

Matthew 27:60 tells us that Joseph rolls a big stone in front of the cave. And there, in a borrowed tomb, Jesus’ body lay. Dark. Cold. Alone. No mourners at the entrance. Just quiet.

You and I, we have been to that grave, that tomb, that place of history where we lay our dead. The feelings of sadness come. Hopelessness. Despair. 

We relate to this story because we’ve experienced loss. We’ve grieved. We stuffed it down. We’ve dealt with it the best way we know how. So did the disciples. But that’s where the story gets confusing. It doesn’t follow a typical grief process. Typically the person you lose, does not come back. In Jesus’ case, he did come back. And for some reason, this surprised those closest to him. 

The story is confusing

Confusion happens when things are unclear, perplexing. 

Things that happen that are out of our control befuddle us, limiting our understanding. Things happen that we don’t expect to happen. Confusion ensues. Namely, when people die, we expect them to stay dead. Anything else is confusing and downright scary. I’ve got some examples, starting with…

Mary, remember her? She watched as Jesus’ body was laid to rest. She and other ladies wanted to anoint Jesus’ body, couldn’t because it was getting late and so she came back on the first day of the week. And she was shocked! The Tomb is open and empty. She runs back to the disciples to let them know. Some come to check it out. But she’s still sitting on the sidelines, weeping. In John 20: 11-18, Mary talks with Jesus but doesn’t realize it’s him. She thinks he is the gardener, maybe even he was the grave robber. (John 20:11-18) Mary’s sorrow, overwhelmed her vision. She could not see Jesus standing right in front of her face. She’d lost him and all she knew was to cry.

All that changed when Jesus called her by name. Mary!

Her confusion about who Jesus was and where he was had ended. She called out to him, “Rabboni,” Teacher!

Peter’s Confusion: After Mary came to the disciples and told them someone had moved Jesus’ body, Peter had to see this for himself. The word of a woman was not enough. Peter and John head for the tomb and John gets there first but only peeks in, doesn’t go to where Jesus’ body had been laid. Peter rushes right in, examines the strips of cloth. John 20:8 tells us that John went in and “Saw and believed.” What did he believe? Believed what Mary had said. Jesus’ body was missing. As for Peter, Luke gives us some insight, “Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” (Luke 24:12b)

More confusion takes place when some of the disciples claim to have seen the risen Jesus, but one particular disciple is not jumping aboard that ship without a liferaft. His Name? Thomas.

 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  (John 20:25)

But just one week later, Jesus shows up in their midst again and invites Thomas to do just as he said he needed to do to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. 

We know Jesus commands Thomas to feel his scars to prove he is who he is, but we never see Thomas doing this. He sees Jesus and says, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

His confusion was cleared up with a direct intervention with Jesus Christ. He saw and he believed.

Not only is this relatable, and at times confusing, – thankfully Jesus brings clarity…This story is true. It is the Good news.

Story is the Good News. The story is True.

Pharisees arrange for some security on Jesus’ tomb. Why? Because they were listening and retaining what Jesus said, they just did not believe Him. Addressing Pilate, they said

63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” (Matt 27:62-64)

The super religious, those that instigated Christ’s death are the ones who seem to remember best what Jesus said about the resurrection. 

Other’s, angels/messengers remind Jesus’ followers what He said/foretold

Luke 24:1-8, The women arrive at the tomb and are met with a surprise. Jesus’ body is gone. Two men in gleaming clothes of lightning stand beside them and say,

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words. (Luke 24:5b-8)

Then the women left the tomb and told the disciples.

What was that message? HE IS RISEN. HE IS RISEN, INDEED. And that message was…not received, as we’ve already discussed.

So Unbelievers remembered Jesus’ words, Messengers, (possibly angelic,) told the good news. Finally, Jesus shows them the evidence himself. This story is TRUE. He is risen!

In Luke 24, Jesus appears to the disciples and they are surprised. He shows them the physical proof that he is who he says he is. His scars. He even eats something. No trickery. Just Jesus. Then he makes it very clear what they missed:

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:44-28)

Tying it together with the Apostles’ Creed

The Story of Easter is one that can confuse us, based on human wisdom. One we can connect with based on human emotions and feelings. And one that ultimately draws us to the source of Life. That is Jesus, the Christ. 

If you are a Christian, then you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins, you have started a new life in him, it is imperative that you learn how to share that faith with the world. 

The last three statements of faith, as recorded in the Apostles’ Creed say,

I believe in…

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

The forgiveness of sins. For sins: “transgressions against the known will of God.” to be forgiven, they must first be confessed, acknowledged. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

This belief in the forgiveness of sins doesn’t make the Christian better than anyone else, it just acknowledges the free gift of forgiveness. Provided for all. Though it’s free to you and me, it was not cheap. It cost Jesus his life. His blood and body. He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Now the The Easter story is nothing without Resurrection. It makes sense that Christians would believe in the Resurrection.

We Believe in The Resurrection. Jesus’ Resurrection and triumph over death. We believe he makes a way for us to live with him in eternity. Which brings us to the last line in the Apostles’ creed. I Believe in…

…the life everlasting. Amen.

Everlasting. Eternal. Life.