(The audio recording of this sermon will be uploaded here after the Sunday service.)
Good morning! Happy Easter! Jesus is risen! Let us celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! Today, we commemorate Easter, the day when Jesus rose again. For us Christians, Easter is one of the most important festivals(holidays), along with Christmas and Pentecost.
Let me ask you a question. Do you know why Jesus rose again? We all know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. But why did Jesus come back to life? Do you know why? Through the resurrection, Jesus overcame death. He defeated death. He triumphed over death. Hallelujah! As a result, Jesus became the firstfruits of the resurrection. In fact, Jesus proved that He is the Son of God through His resurrection.
Let me read Romans chapter 1 verse 4, it says, “…and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Yes, Jesus was born as the son of Mary, fully human. At the same time, He was the Son of God from the beginning. He is still the Son of God. He will be the Son of God eternally. Amen!
And because Jesus rose from the dead, we too can believe that we will be raised. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, it says: “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. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
Brothers and sisters, do you believe in the resurrection? I do. Do you believe in the resurrection of the body? I do. I believe that you and I will both be raised again — because Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. So then, when will we be resurrected? When Jesus returns to this earth, we will rise again.
In John chapter 5 verse 29, we can find this word, “Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”
You know what, most Bible passages emphasize the resurrection of the righteous only. But the Bible speaks of the resurrection of both the wicked and the righteous. And yet this does not refer to judgment based on works, but rather to judgement based on believers’ lifestyles. In other words, the people who truly believe in Jesus bear good fruits in their lives. Christians will be resurrected. Non-Christians also will be resurrected… I mean all people on earth will be resurrected in the future.
And in Romans 5:25, it says, “Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Jesus died on the cross for our sins. As a result, we have received forgiveness of sins. Moreover, Jesus was resurrected to prove that we have been justified. Now, we are not sinners any longer. Rather, we are ”righteous“ in God’s eyes.
Alright, then, from now, I would like to share the message with you, focusing on the words Jesus left during the 40 days He remained on this earth after His resurrection.
In today’s passage, we see that after the Sabbath, on the first day of the week—Sunday morning—Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James went to look at the tomb. That day, all of sudden, there was an earthquake, and an angel appeared and rolled away the heavy stone that had been blocking the tomb. To the two Marys, who were trembling in fear, the angel said, “Do not be afraid! Jesus has risen, just as He told you.” The angel reassured them and then said, “Go and tell Jesus’ disciples that He has risen. He will go ahead of you into Galilee, and there you will see Him.”
Here, the angel says, “Just as Jesus told you.” From this, we can see that Jesus always keeps His promises. Jesus does what He says. He is true to His word. That’s one of the reasons why we can trust in Jesus. I wish I could be someone who always does what he says, just like Jesus, but it doesn’t happen. I wish I could keep every word and promise I make—but there are times when I fail to be true to my word.
Brothers and sisters, let us be true to our word! By doing so, we can be trusted by the people around us. Especially, let us keep our promises to God! By doing so, we will be entrusted with great and wonderful things for the kingdom of God.
Let us go back to today’s passage. There are several sentences that catch my eyes. One of them is… “Jesus will go ahead of you into Galilee.” We can notice that Jesus always goes ahead of His disciples in any situation. He is the One who always leads us from the front. Amen! Every time I see Jesus’ words and actions, I learn what it means to be a true leader. He is the greatest Leader of all time. Amen!
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James were afraid, yet filled with great joy. The fact that Jesus had risen and that they would be able to see Him again thrilled them. So they ran from the tomb to tell the disciples the news. On the way, they met Jesus. Can you imagine how surprised Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James were? They must have been frightened.
When Jesus met them, the first thing He said was, “Peace with you!” Or “Rejoice!” Brothers and sisters! Jesus always cares for you and me. He is always concerned about us. He always intercedes for us. So, we, too, should greet our brothers and sisters in Christ by saying, “Peace be with you!” Or “Rejoice!” every time we meet. Hey you folks, repeat after me. Peace with you! Say it to the people right next to you. Repeat after me. Rejoice! Say it to the people behind you.
The two Marys who saw Jesus came to Him, took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”
Brothers and sisters, if Jesus is with us, what do we have to fear? There is nothing that we fear. But unfortunately, we always have “complaints, anxiety, worry, unease, fear” in our hearts. Whenever “peace, joy, gratitude and hope” vanish from our hearts, “complaints, anxiety, worry, unease and fear” replace them immediately and automatically. Because Jesus knows our human spiritual and psychological state so well, He speaks again and again, “Be at peace, for I am with you! Do not be afraid, for I am with you!”
And Jesus calls His disciples “My brothers.” While the angels referred to them as “His disciples,” Jesus calls them “My brothers.” The reason why Jesus refers to His disciples as “My brothers” is because He has accepted them as members of God’s family. The same is true with us. Jesus accepts us as members of God’s family. What I mean is that our relationship with Jesus is not merely that of a teacher and disciples, but first and foremost, we are siblings who share the same Father—God the Creator.
Also, when Jesus says to His disciples, “Let’s meet in Galilee,” we can see that He is always the one who initiates gatherings. He is a coordinator. We can see that Jesus is a humble Leader who always leads by example.
Eventually, the eleven disciples met Jesus on a mountain in Galilee. Like Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, they worshiped Him when they saw Him. But, some of the disciples did not fully believe in Him. According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn hearts (Mark 16:14).
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?” (Luke 24:38).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:27-28).
Even if we say we believe in Jesus, we often experience moments of doubt in our hearts. When doubts rise in our minds, it leads to anxiety. When we become anxious, we are overtaken by fear. And when we are overwhelmed by fear, we fall into panic.
Brothers and sisters, I pray that you will not be unbelieving, but believing. I really want you to become the people who trust in Jesus’ words not only when they have answers to prayer, spiritual experiences, or miracles in their lives, but even when they don’t have these kinds of things, saying, “Jesus, I trust in You!”
And Jesus is not pleased with those who doubt. Think about it for a moment. If someone said to you, “I can’t trust your words! I can’t believe what you say! I doubt your words and your ability!” — who would be happy to hear that? The same with Jesus. Of course, He would rebuke us, saying, “Why can’t you trust Me?” And I believe that Jesus is more pleased with and praises those who trust Him 100% and follow Him, rather than those who doubt and do not follow Him.
I will conclude the sermon here. Jesus has risen. He rose from the dead and is now sitting at the right hand of God. I pray that you believe in the resurrection of Jesus. I pray that you believe we will also be resurrected. Brothers and sisters, we will be resurrected and live forever with Jesus. No matter what pain, trials and hardships come our way, the reason we can overcome them is because we have the hope of the resurrection. Let us pray.
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