The Power of Easter

Matthew 27:57-28:8
There is a story that comes to us from the 1st century church, when Rome was persecuting and trying to eradicate this new group called “Christians.” One Roman official decided he was going to take care of this once and for all. And so early one Easter morning, long before sunrise, he sent troops to gather every single individual from the surrounding villages. The people were all herded into an outdoor amphitheatre and for 3 hours he lectured them on the evils and folly of this “false” religion of Christianity. And when he was done he mockingly asked the crowd if any of them would like to speak in rebuttal, he would give them one minute to speak. At first, no one moved. Then slowly an old man, bent over with gray hair made his way to the front of the crowd. The official was stunned. “You wish to speak?” he asked. “I do,” said the old man. “You will only have one minute to speak.” “I Understand” he said. Slowly, the old man climbed up to the podium. He pulled himself up to his full height, raised both arms in the air and shouted: “He Is Risen!”. And with that statement the countenance of the entire crowd changed and they shouted in unison “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”, and the Roman official realized he had lost.
Powerful words and a Powerful Truth - He is Risen! Powerful enough to change a group of hurting, fearful men huddled in an upper room into men willing to die in order to proclaim it’s truth; Powerful enough to covert a doubting Thomas into a true believer; Powerful enough to convert a Saul breathing threats and murder against the church into a Paul who would write most of the New Testament. And powerful enough to change you and I today and make us meet for the Master’s use.
Christmas means little without Easter. Good Friday would certainly not be Good without Easter.
Sunday would just be another day of the week without Easter. This morning we come here to celebrate the most glorious event in history. We come to celebrate: our risen Lord and Christ, our salvation, forgiveness of sin, victory over death, the gift of eternal life, and the ultimate defeat of Satan.

I. PERSISTENCE OF EVIL-
They Crucified the King of Glory while mocking Him
But they would not stop there. They realize that Jesus has promised to rise from the dead
Suddenly, they realize that all of their plotting was for nothing if Jesus Rises Again
As much as they hate Governor Pilate, they come to him once again to seek his help
Now they want Jesus’ tomb secured as if it were a crime scene or a priceless treasure
Pilate’s response challenges them. As sure as you can
He granted them guards and they seal the stone and mark it with Pilate’s signet
Whether they used clay or wax or cement, Rome’s stamp was the greatest seal
It would have been a crime to have tampered with that seal
But even that is not enough; they set a watch, a rotation of guards to keep a perimeter
Vested in preventing the resurrection, in keeping the Lamb of God dead
Satan did not want Jesus to conquer death and sin and make a way for our redemption
The Jewish leaders thought they had eliminated the problem, now it could be a bigger problem
When none of that kept Jesus in the tomb, they conspired to lie and paid the