Easter 2021
Beyond The Cross
Scripture: First Corinthians 15:14-18; John 20:1-18; Isaiah 53:9
Throughout my early years in the Church, we sang a song that contained the following words that I am sure many of you will recognize: “Jesus keep me near the cross, there’s a precious fountain. Free to all, a healing stream, flows from Calvary’s mountain. In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find, rest beyond the river.” This song focused on what Christ did for us on the cross – He died for our sins. There was also another favorite song of mine that we sung containing these words, “God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive. He lived and died, to buy my pardon, an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.” This song talks about what happened after the cross and that is what I want to talk to you about this morning in this Easter message I’ve titled, “Beyond the Cross.”
Many people wear crosses as a profession of their Christian faith and that is totally fine by me. We see people wearing crosses as jewelry or decorating their accessories. We see them everywhere; on the walls of people’s homes, in Churches, on books and on clothing. Some crosses are elaborate while others are plain. Some have images of Jesus still being on the cross while others are just the cross itself. Regardless of the cross selected, the subliminal message delivered is that the cross bearer identifies as a member of the Christian faith. The cross for some Christians is a reminder of what Jesus did when He died for our sins and wearing one reminds them of that. Still, for others, they wear the cross to feel closer to Jesus and to ward off evil spirits – a belief made popular in old vampire movies. What I want us to think about this morning is this: it started with the cross but it did not end there. You see, if Jesus had stayed “on the cross” or in the grave, we would not be here today.
I want you to see what was recorded in First Corinthians 15:14-18: “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. 18Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” I want you to see this clearly. If Jesus had not risen from the dead then everything we believe; all the prayers we have prayed; and everything we have done in His name was/is in vain. Not only that, but if He hadn’t been raised from the dead then everyone who has died is still dead and will spend an eternity burning in the lake of fire. That also means that when we die, we will join them. Are you seeing this picture? So this morning we are not going to talk about the cross; or the beatings He took; or His march to Calvary. We are not going to talk about the nails being driven into His wrists and feet. We are not going to talk about the spear that was thrust into His side. No my friends, we are going to talk about His resurrection and ascension because for us, this truth, that He rose from the dead and now sits on the right hand of the Father, gives us the opportunity to do what is captured in the second song I mentioned – face all of our tomorrows without fear because we know He holds our futures! Amen! Praise be to God that He raised Christ from the dead!!!
So let’s talk a minute about what happened. After Christ died on the cross, the disciples and His other followers, those who had spent three faithful years following Him, went to their homes heavyhearted, their dreams shattered. Many questions must have raced through their minds making sleep impossible. What happened to the multitude who praised Him as He entered Jerusalem on an ass a few days ago? What happened to His disciples that none of them fought to free Him? How could God allow this to happen to the man who was supposed to be His Son and Jews’ Messiah? It was a very long night followed by even longer days and nights. How could they reconcile what they thought they knew about the Savior coming to save them and now He’s dead and buried? You see, they did not think about or understand what was recorded in the Old Testament pertaining to His death and resurrection. When they read Psalm 16:10 which says, “For You will not leave My soul in Sheol; neither will You allow your Holy One to see corruption….” they did not know that this spoke of Jesus not being in the grave long enough for His body to start decaying. When they read Isaiah 53:9 which says, “And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth...” they did not understand that this was a prophecy that Jesus would die as a criminal but would be laid in a rich man’s tomb that had never been used. They did not have this understanding until after He rose from the dead – and thank God He did rise from the dead
Early on the first day of the week a cock crowed somewhere in the distance as the sun began to shine. The women arose and dressed quickly as they began their predawn walk to His grave. Something compelled them to go to the grave to finish what hadn’t been completed before His body was placed in the grave. There was work to be done to His body before the permanent burial. They were the last ones to see Jesus on the cross, but the first expecting to see Him in the tomb. But they were surprised when they arrived. You see, it was sunrise on the first Easter morning! This was resurrection Sunday! This would be a day that would be remembered forever. New Light, when they arrived at the tomb, Jesus was not there. He had risen! Let’s read the story from John chapter twenty. We will begin at verse one.
“The first day of the week came Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and saw the stone taken away from the sepulcher. 2Then she ran, and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, ‘They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him.’ When Mary (and those with her as recorded in the other Gospels) arrived, the stone was already rolled away and the soldiers charged with guarding the tomb were also gone. Without checking the tomb they immediately ran and told the disciples. Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb to see what had happened. Now I want you to see the looks in their eyes. They were not looks of “Praise God, Jesus is alive.” No, they were looks of fear and uncertainty because they believed someone had stolen Jesus’ body. And we’re going to see, by their reactions, that Peter and the other disciples felt the same way.
“3Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. 4So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher. 5And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet went He not in. 6Then came Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and saw the linen cloths lying, 7and the cloth, that was about His head, not laying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.” New Light, I want you to note the detail in these verses. Peter and the other disciple arrive at the grave site. And they see the linen clothes laying in one place, but the cloth that was on Jesus’ head had been wrapped up and laid by itself. The orderly arrangement of everything in the tomb paints a picture for me New Light. Jesus gets up Sunday morning as if He has just awakened from a good night’s sleep. He neatly folds the linen clothes and place them at the foot of the bed and then He takes the cloth that was on His head and neatly folds it and places it at the head of the bed. He didn’t rush. He took His time. He knew that He had satisfied the purchase price for our redemption!
“8Then went in also that other disciple, who came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed. 9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11But Mary stood outside at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher. 12And saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13And they said unto her, ‘Woman, why weep you?’ Let me pause here. The disciples left and Mary stayed behind. She looked into the tomb thinking it would be empty but she see two angels sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where Jesus’ body had lain. They ask her why she was weeping. When they said “Woman” just as Jesus would say also, it was a sign of respect and kindness. Let’s continue.
“She said unto them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.’ 14And when she had thus spoke, she turned back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said unto her, ‘Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?’ She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said unto Him, ‘Sir, if You have borne Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away. 16Jesus said unto her, ‘Mary.’ She turned, and said unto him, ‘Rabboni’; which is to say, Teacher. 17Jesus said unto her, ‘Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.’ 18Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her.” (John 20:1-18)
Jesus would not let Mary touch Him because He had one more job to do. This morning I want you to see what happened when Jesus ascended to the Father. New Light, how many of you know that the writers of the Bible used words on purpose? Of all the words that could have been used after Jesus rose from grave, the Bible records the word “ascend.” The word means “to go or come up, to ascend, cause to ascend from a lower place to a higher place.” When I read this, my mind immediately went to Philippians chapter two verses eight through eleven. “8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name with is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)
There are several things I want to point out about His ascension. First and foremost, Jesus ascended as the Son of God returning to His Father. As I said earlier, although Jesus had risen from the grave, there was one more thing He had to do – go back home. Why was this so important? The words Jesus used “I am ascending to My Father…” signifies someone going on a journey to another country – to His fatherland (His proper place.) His resurrection proved once and for all that He was the Son of God as recorded in Romans 1:4 which says, “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Jesus’ death for our sins was a necessity. His resurrection was an even greater necessity. However, His ascension completed His work here on earth! Jesus had given the disciples a hint of what was to come in John 6:62 when He asked them “What if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before?” His ascension removed all doubt of His power and authority. And it gets better. Jesus tells Mary to tell the brethren “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” Because He ascended back to His Father, God is now our Father! Now I want you to notice the order: God is our Father first and then He’s our God. New Light, that’s the kind of relationship we have with the Creator of the universe. He is our Father!
The second thing that I want you to see is that Jesus ascended as High Priest. As the High Priest did on the Day of Atonement, Jesus presented the blood of sins sacrifice in the Holy of Holies in heaven just as the High Priest did in the earthly Tabernacle. Hebrews 9:24 says, “For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” This He did between His meeting with Mary and when He appeared before His disciples. When He did this, He obtained eternal redemption for us and opened the door for us to be able to fulfill our “priestly” or ministry functions. If we were to continue reading, we would see the gifts identified in verse eleven and the reason why they were given explained in verses twelve through fifteen. I encourage you to read them when you get home because they were given for the benefit of the Church body as a whole. But let me speak specifically to each of you as individuals. Because Jesus is our High Priest, we have benefits.
Listen to what is recorded in Hebrews 4:14-16. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The writer of Hebrews states that because Jesus is our High Priest; One Who has passed into the heavens; One who understands our feelings of weakness as He was tempted just as we are and yet He did not sin; we can come boldly unto the throne of grace and obtain mercy! Do you understand what this is saying? Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, mercy and grace is always available to us! The high priest’s function was to stand before God, separate from where sinners stood and represent the people for the forgiveness of their sins through a blood sacrifice. Well Jesus conquered sin and He carries out the work of redemption for the world from heaven. He is the head of the Church. The headquarters of the Church is no longer in Jerusalem or Rome, but at the right hand of God on High!!!
I want to close with what is recorded in Ephesians 4:7-8, we read: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8Therefore he says, ‘When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.’” Jesus, when He ascended, as we just read in Ephesians, He took captivity captive. What was it that caused the human race to be in captivity? It was the sin nature that we received from Adam. Now what was the captivity? It was a life that was unable to fight against the wiles of the devil. It was a life that could not be fitted with the armor of God. It was a life that was headed for the lake of fire. But thank God for Jesus! He has taken our captivity and released us to live a life where, as Ephesians four verse fifteen says that we “…speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, who is the head, even Christ.” Because Jesus ascended back to His Father, we now have the ability to grow up to look just like Him – not physically, but spiritually. In other words, New Light, because Jesus ascended, as we continue to grow and mature, we will look more and more like Him and do the things that He did in the four gospels. And, as I remind you from time to time, all of this is by faith. It does not matter how long you have been a Christian or how long you have been a member of a Church. It’s not about how old you are or the degrees you have received in school. It about faith! It’s about what you choose to believe and act on.
Jesus told Mary to tell the disciples that He was ascending to His Father and their Father – to His God and their God. Jesus was talking about those who have been redeemed. With redemption comes adoption. With adoption comes a name change – a family change. We are no longer the children of sin, but the children of God. We have a new Master, one who actually loves us. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end – it was the beginning of something new and wonderful! Jesus is our forerunner to heaven. As Hebrew 6:19-20 points out, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil. 20 Where the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Jesus is the first fruits of heaven. First Corinthians 15:20-23 says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, (What Paul is saying is that, even though we had not sinned when we were born, because of the sin nature passed down to us by Adam, we were going to spend an eternity in the lake of fire. I am so thankful for the next clause!) even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.”
Jesus death on the cross led to His resurrection. His resurrection led to our being able to come into the family of God. Jesus died for the sins of the world and that should mean something to every person who calls themselves a Christian. His death did not give us a free pass to sin, but it did give us the strength to resist it because of what He did for us. New Light, we can live because Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day. My personal testimony is, as the song says, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, my fear is gone. Because I know He holds my future, my life is worth the living, just because He lives!”
Happy Easter New Light! May God bless and keep you.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(We are once again conducting live services on Sunday morning beginning at 9:15 a.m. We will continue to broadcast live on Facebook Live at 10:00 a.m.. Please tune in to "New Light Christian Fellowship Church" and like our page if you wish to watch our broadcast and be notified when we go live. If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9:15 a.m.. We also have Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. via Zoom that you are also welcome to attend – please email me for the link. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
