The sermon introduction discusses the significance of the cross as a symbol of Easter, highlighting its original use as a tool of execution and torture, and its transformation into a symbol of special meaning and beauty.
He is risen! I’m happy to see you this Resurrection Sunday!
Does anyone have a new cross necklace? I’ve always thought that if you don’t like giving chocolate and bunnies, a cross could make a great gift for Easter morning. Whether you received it today or have worn it for years, how many of you are wearing a cross right now? Some of the crosses you are wearing are so beautiful and elegant. It’s a special piece of jewelry because it also has such a special meaning!
Have you ever thought about what the cross really is? Originally the cross was the tool Rome used to execute its criminals more than two thousand years ago. It wasn’t just a form of execution; it was a form of torture and humiliation—where the victim usually suffocated to death from the weight of his own body. Back then, if you wore a cross around your neck, it would be like wearing a necklace with a little electric chair on it. But don’t stop wearing your cross. The fact that such an ugly instrument has become a thing of elegance and beauty is actually a testimony and clear picture of what this day is all about.
The Resurrection is the day that took things that were broken, cruel, harsh, ugly, and repulsive and made them beautiful again. The Resurrection is redemption. The Resurrection is transformation. The Resurrection doesn’t make the cross a little less barbaric, a little smoother, or a little kinder. The Resurrection is so powerful and so all encompassing that it takes a symbol of death and transforms it into a symbol of life and salvation.
Maybe you haven’t thought of your cross like that before. So today, I want to bring you back to the reality of what happened this weekend. This day is celebrated by more than two billion people across the world. We’re going to look at two important aspects of the Resurrection that go hand in hand—the reality of the event and the beautiful transformation the event brings. Like those beautiful crosses we wear around our necks, the Resurrection points to a harsh reality while at the same time displaying an overwhelming beauty and transformation of grace. Without the Resurrection, the cross is barbaric and meaningless. With the Resurrection, the cross is our hope and life.
The Resurrection is so powerful and so all encompassing that it takes a symbol of death and transforms it into a symbol of life and salvation.
As He lived, Jesus foretold His death and resurrection; we read about it in passages like Mark 8:31–32: “[Jesus] then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.”
Jesus’ Resurrection proves all of His words were true, and it proves that His sacrifice for our sins accomplished its work.
Since Jesus rose from the grave, we know that all who believe in Him will be raised from the dead as well. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 15:17–21: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.”
A scholar by the name of John S. Whale said, “Belief in the Resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith.” It is proof that all Jesus did and all Jesus said was true. Without the Resurrection, Jesus’s claim in John 14:6—“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”– doesn’t make sense. Because of the Resurrection, that same claim is our great and only hope for salvation.
This Resurrection Sunday, we have great confidence in both the truth and power of Jesus’ Resurrection. While scholars may argue over what Jesus’ words meant, no serious Bible scholar denies that Jesus was a historical figure who profoundly impacted His immediate world. In fact, historical witnesses outside of the Bible confirm Jesus lived and was crucified. Amazingly, historical witnesses also prove that Jesus’ earliest followers were extremely serious about their devotion to Him, His teachings, and His resurrection.
For example, in Annals of Imperial Rome, written around AD 116, the Roman senator and historian Tacitus wrote about how Emperor Nero burned Rome in AD 64, then blamed it on, to quote, “the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their animosity. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate.”
Other non-Christians such as the Jewish historian Josephus wrote about Jesus and His followers as well. Before Tacitus wrote his history, a Roman governor, Pliny the Younger, complained in a letter about how the early Christians he persecuted and punished would “sing hymns to Christ as to a god.”
Dr. Paul Maier called this “positive evidence from a hostile source. In essence, if a source admits a fact that is decidedly not in its favor, the fact is genuine.” These and other witnesses confirm that something monumental and transformative took place in the followers of Jesus. Even the pagan Roman rulers testified to the fact that the earliest followers of Jesus, who knew Jesus, did not consider Him to be an ordinary man.
This brings us to another ugly reality with a beautiful result ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium
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