Easter Is A Reality To Answer

Easter is either a nice story we revisit once a year or the moment that rewires everything. We open Luke 24 and follow the first Easter morning, where confusion, grief, and skepticism collide with an empty tomb and a question that won’t let go: “Why do you seek the living amongst the dead?”

We talk through why the resurrection of Jesus matters beyond church tradition. If Jesus truly died and rose again, he isn’t just a wise teacher with inspiring ideas. He is the living King who defeats sin and death, offers forgiveness of sins, and starts making a new world right now. That changes how we face fear, how we understand hope, and what we believe about salvation.

We also slow down and make space for doubt. The first witnesses come to the tomb carrying spices for a body, not expectations for a miracle, and even the disciples struggle to believe. That honesty is good news for anyone who feels stuck with questions about Christian faith, the Bible, or whether God is real. We’re convinced you can bring your doubts to Jesus, keep moving toward him, and find that he meets you with peace.

Finally, we wrestle with a challenging idea: the resurrection is news to be shared. If it’s been a long time since we’ve talked about Jesus, we ask why and what it would look like to make spiritual conversations normal again. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can hear the good news.

Transcript

Easter As A Moment To Respond

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Well, good morning, church. Happy Easter. If we haven't had a chance to meet yet, uh, my name is Andrew. I'm one of the pastors here at CBC. For those who are visiting, it's your first time here, and we're just glad that you would take time on your Sunday morning to come and be a part of our church family. Folks, today we get to celebrate the most important day in human history. If you've got a Bible, we're going to head to Luke 24 to talk about what exactly that means. But while you're heading there, let me share a story that'll kind of help you understand what I'm hoping to communicate this morning. There's certain moments in life that you can't ignore, you just have to respond to. I'll never forget the moment that we walked out of the hospital when our oldest daughter was born. The second those sliding doors opened and we walked into the fresh wound socket air, it hit me. Life is going to be different. Just a few nights prior, Brandy and I had uninterrupted sleep. We had discretionary income. We always ate our food while it was still hot. And all of a sudden, we're thrust into this world where now we were going to have to take full responsibility for this little miniature human that is coming home with us. There were adjustments that had to be made in order to accommodate this new reality that was in our lives. Folks, I drove home from the hospital at 45 miles an hour. Everything seemed so fast. My driving changed because this new little baby that was riding in our car. There were things that just naturally happened to me that I was now becoming a dad. I had this weird impulse to wear new balances and to want to go mow the lawn on a Saturday morning. I realized becoming a dad wasn't something for me to negotiate. It was a reality I needed to respond to. And I think that's how we need to process Easter that the good news of Jesus' resurrection and death is not a take it or leave it part of Christianity. It's a truth we need to respond to. So if you're here this morning and this is your home, but this is church, I hope this conversation reminds you of the Jesus we've been responding to all along. And I hope you're reminded how powerful he is and how privileged we are to know him. If you're here and maybe you're not necessarily convinced of following Jesus, maybe you're here because somebody invited you and you just wanted them to stop inviting you. Maybe you're here and you're skeptical of this whole faith thing. I hope you come to the table with just a little bit of openness this morning. It may be Christianity isn't just some sort of religion or isn't just a way to practice self-help or better care and things like that. It may be when Christians get it right, we're actually responding to something real. That if the life and the vents, the death and resurrection of Jesus, if it's legitimate, then we have to do something with that truth today. And that's what I'd like to spend our time talking about this morning. But would you join me in prayer for just a minute? Jesus, we thank you. Lord, because of your life, death, and resurrection, we now have life right now. That you're not some myth, you're not some fictional tale. You are a true God that came down to be with us to meet us in our need, and because of it today we can live, Jesus. God, I thank you. We don't have to manufacture your presence in a room. God, you're already here. And so would you help us to pay attention to you closely today, to welcome you into our hearts once again, to give you the throne of our lives and say, Jesus and Jesus alone. And so, Lord, would you be with us? Would you speak with us? Would you change our hearts one more time to become a little bit more like you? And God, we'll give you all the praise and all the glory because you deserve it all in then some. In Jesus' powerful name we pray. Amen.

Why The Resurrection Matters

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So if you got your Bible, we're looking at Luke 24. But before we start, let me help you see why Easter Sunday matters. As we're looking at this biography written about Jesus in about 60 AD from one of his followers, if you read the first 23 chapters of Luke's book, it reads like a Rocky movie. Pretty early on, you realize Jesus has been making some enemies, and there's an inevitable showdown that's coming at the end. And all throughout the book of Luke, there's this tension building between Jesus and the religious leaders around them. And the reason why this tension is building is they're outraged at some of the claims that Jesus has been making. The most significant one was that Jesus claimed he was God, and that through his death, he'd be able to grant humans forgiveness from their sins. Now, what that means on a simple level is that all humans have committed wrong, whether against each other or against God, and as a result, all of us are reserving of just punishment. And so Jesus comes on the scene 2,000 years ago and he begins to show us hey, it's always been in God's heart to want to save his people. So much so that he's willing to lay down his life so that they don't have to pay the consequence for their sin. So think about this: the God of the universe willingly allows himself to be crucified by the very people he created. And in doing so, he extinguishes God's punishment on himself. And that's the story of Good Friday. They kill Jesus, they crucify him, and they put him in the tomb. And for other Messiah figures in Jesus' time in the first and second century, that's how their story ended. They were killed by the hands of religious or government leaders, their followers would stick around for a decade or two, then eventually they'd fizzle out until another Messiah showed up. But for Jesus, the story doesn't end there. And if Jesus' story ended in death, Jesus would just be a wise teacher, but all that stuff that he says about forgiving sins, that'd be nonsense because he has no basis upon which he can do that. But luckily, we've got proof on Easter morning that Jesus wasn't just a wise teacher. There's only been one person that's ever been resurrected, never to experience death again, and that's Jesus Christ. And so if you read, if you go back, knowing this truth, if you go back and read the teachings of Jesus, it becomes clear he wasn't just a good observer who had a positive attitude. No, his resurrection proves that this is God. And as a result, we have to take him seriously. This is why Easter is a big deal. The resurrection is the sign and the seal that Jesus was true, that he does have victory over death and sin, and that the new world is being made new, and Jesus is the first citizen of that world. Folks, you're here right now on a Sunday morning, 2,000 years later, because since that moment, Christians have paused on the first day of the week, every week, to celebrate the truth of the resurrection and to realize, hey, we live into a new world now because of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. Because he's won the battle against sin and death, we have freedom in life right now. Folks, right now, you're joining in 2,000 years of history of people recognizing the risen Jesus. But honestly, if you look back at the beginning, it's pretty amazing how we got to be here today.

The Empty Tomb In Luke 24

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Let's look at the first story of Easter and see what this teaches about what God is like. Says this in Luke chapter 4, beginning in verse 1. On the Sabbath day they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living amongst the dead? He's not here, but he is risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise. And they remembered his words. And returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves, and he went home, marveling at what had happened. Man, you want to talk about a rough start. Right? If you're trying to concoct a royal religion, this is not how you begin the story. First, in a women where in a world where women's testimony wasn't entrusted in court, they're the first ones who are trusted with the good news of the resurrection. Second, not only do the disciples not show up at the tomb, but when the women try and share with them, hey, the tomb is empty, only one of them trusted them enough to go back and investigate the tomb. Now, I don't think Luke records it this way because he wants to show us the humble beginnings of Christianity, how we mess things up. I think he does this because he wants to show us, hey, this is what believing in Jesus looks like. That there's a way to respond to the truth of the gospel, and it might begin slow, but it turns into something beautiful. The

Doubt Can Lead You Forward

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first thing we learn in this story is this is that you can bring your doubts to Jesus. Let me help share a story that might help you understand where I'm coming from. Before coming to CBC, my old office was in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. And one of my coworkers mentioned when I got there, he said, Hey, Stirbridge has the best tacos ever. Folks, I don't know if you've ever been to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, but it's not a booming metropolis known for its food. There's like six places to eat in the whole town. And so when this friend mentioned, hey, Surbridge has the best tacos, I said, Oh, bless your heart. In my head, I'm thinking, man, this poor dude, his only point of comparison must be Taco Bell. There's like three Hispanic dudes in Stirbridge, and I'm one of them. And we have no tacos in this town. There's no way. But my coworker kept encouraging me, hey, bro, you just have to try them. Just trust me. Come on, come on. And so we arrive and I see this line out the door. And in my doubt, I'm trying to rationalize. I say, well, I guess if you're in a desert, even a mud puddle will sound like water to you. So maybe in the absence of good tacos, this is the best they've got. Someone needs to tell these folks about Cranston and Providence, where we have real food. And finally, my moment comes to order. And I ordered two tacos because I was convinced they were going to be terrible and it was going to be a waste of my money. But folks, when they brought them out, I witnessed something beautiful. The smells, the taste, the charred meat, the seasoning. I could see my friend's eyes lighting up as he knew, Yep, you're about to learn today, brother. Turns out Sturbridge has a secret weapon, this wonderful man from Mexico named Clemente, and he's been killing it in Sturbridge for the last years. I say all this to say, after six years and countless Taco Tuesdays, I am glad I was able to move beyond my initial doubts because I would have missed out on really important joy if I would have stayed there with my doubts. Folks, we live in a world that says, as long as you can raise the question, you don't have to keep continuing for the search for truth. At the second you have one doubt, one concern about something, you can stop your pursuit there. It doesn't matter if you have a better answer because you've raised the question, you've done the work. And what I think that is is actually pretty lazy. If we operate that way, if we let our doubts stop us at step one, there's a chance we may miss out on something beautiful because we've allowed our doubts to stop us at the door. In Luke 24, we learn that we can't let our doubts stop us from moving forward. And even more beautifully, that Jesus will meet you in the middle of your doubts. Here's how I know this to be true. If you go back in your Bible to Luke 23, the chapter ends with the women seeing the chaos of the crucifixion. They see Jesus lifeless in the tomb, wrapped in burial cloths, and they've lost hope. Whatever thoughts they had of Jesus jumping back to life at the last minute, whatever thoughts they had of God sending an army of angels to end all the suffering, all that stuff is dashed. And it says in verse 56, after looking at Jesus' lifeless body, they return home to prepare spices and ointments. Those who don't know, when someone died in Jesus' time, their loved ones would go back to the tomb for the next days after and anoint the body with oil and spices to remove the odor and to act as an offering of love for the person who passed away. So think about it. These women wake up early on Easter morning and they pack their bags with heavy spices and oils and make a long walk to the tomb. And even though Jesus had told his followers multiple times that he was going to be handed over and killed, but he would rise on the third day, the women packed their oils and their spices because they thought they'd find a corpse that morning. Which tells us something. They probably had doubts. They probably had questions, they probably had concerns. But here's the good news it says they also woke up at early dawn. They seemed to have doubts, but they also seem curious enough that the first thing they did on that Easter morning was to make their trip to the tomb. Alright, that they could have waited till they had solid breakfast, they could have waited till there were a few more people out on the road, but it says they went to the tomb at early dawn. The women didn't let their doubts paralyze them from still making it to the tomb that morning. I think there's something admirable to be learned from these women. You can have doubts and you can still keep investigating. You can have doubts and you can still keep moving in Jesus' direction, and it's very possible that Jesus will actually meet you in the middle of those doubts. Man, I find that sometimes in my life, I show up to a situation with a lack of faith. I come up with a backpack full of doubts, looking at the thing before me and saying, God, I don't know how we're gonna make it through this one. God, I don't see an out. I don't see a way in which things could actually work out in this situation. I come to the tomb with my oils and my spices, and instead of a corpse, I find Jesus gently reminding me through his messengers, why do you search for the living amongst the dead? I don't find God meeting my doubt with disgust and anger. I find him meeting me with compassion. Man, I'm so glad Jesus isn't like me. Because if I'm Jesus on Easter, I'm marching straight out of the tomb and straight to the disciples' house and saying, Hey buddies, where were you guys? You didn't show up, you left me in my hour of need. Why did you let your doubt win the day? You should have been there. But instead, the first word Jesus shares with the disciples in Luke 24, 36 is peace to you. Which means something today, that there's a God who meets you with peace when you have questions. There's a God who will meet you when you're unsure. There's a God who meets you while you're still investigating things. And if you're here today and you've got questions, I encourage you, don't run from God, run to God. Ask away and trust that if that God is real, if he's a personal God, then God's going to meet you where you are. Man, don't be like the disciples who thought it was an idle tale. Be like Peter who couldn't help but run to the tomb and want to see the good news at work. And as you bring your doubts, will you begin to look for the places in which Jesus is meeting you? Begin to ask yourself that question: hey, who's that messenger that God is sending me to tell me the truth right now? Where in Scripture is God showing me the thing that I needed to hear? Where in his church is God teaching me something that I need to know that might actually meet me in the circumstance that I'm in? Would you begin to realize that those things when God shows up, it's not coincidence? The fact that the friend texted you in that moment when you needed is not coincidence. That is God meeting you where you are. That is God who says, I see exactly where I'm at, and I'm sending help your way. You just gotta be attentive enough to see it. And so the first thing we learn is that it's okay to bring your doubts to Jesus. He'll meet you in that place. The second

Good News Is Meant To Spread

SPEAKER_00 17:20

thing we learn is that the resurrection is news to be shared. If you don't know, Luke, the author that wrote this book, actually wrote two volumes. Luke 24 sets up the second volume, which is called the Acts of the Apostles, where he records the history of the early church. This is important because Luke's trying to help us see that because of the resurrection, everything after that is completely different. In the book of Acts, the second volume records this reality. Holy smokes, because of what God has done, everything in the world is different. Darkness is getting pushed back, cultures are being transformed, and Jesus is being glorified. It's the story of the good news spreading throughout the world. Let me help you see how this worked out in my world. I'll never forget the first time I had coffee milk. Folks, I'm from New York and New Jersey. Growing up, we had two options for milk: chocolate and regular. When I came to New England and started dating Brandy, she casually one day was like, Hey, do you want some coffee milk? And my mind exploded. I had so many questions. And then came that moment when I tasted it. Folks, it was like angels came down from heaven and started just tap dancing on my taste buds. I think I went blind for like 90 seconds. It was a magical experience. But after that came this reality, there's a whole nother part of the country that's living in darkness and does not have access to coffee milk. So we went to stop and shop. I bought a gallon of that Autocrat stuff that's probably thicker than motor oil. I brought a gallon of Autocrat, started introducing all my friends to it back home, and we started a coffee milk revolution, and six people today in New Jersey are drinking coffee milk now. But on a serious note, I think you see something in that is that humans, we are naturally inclined to share that which brings life. And I love that in Luke's account, once the resurrection happened, it is the people's natural impulse to begin sharing the good news. Right? The women leave the tomb and they immediately go and share with the disciples. Jesus meets two men on the road to Emmaus in verse 13 to 34, and immediately they go and share with the disciples. Jesus shows up to the apostles' house in 36 to 49, and he leaves them with the instructions hey, share about the resurrection and proclaim forgiveness of sins to all nations. Which means something. At Easter morning, that good news isn't something that's meant to be hoarded, it's something meant to be shared. Just like the earliest followers of Jesus, it must become our natural instinct to want to go and share good news. The Christian message isn't just that Jesus made a way for us to enjoy heaven, it's that the king has come and he is beginning to put the world to rights. Man, and even though I think it's really risky strategy on God's part, he invites us to be a part of that process. And if we're gonna follow Jesus, one of the most fundamental characteristics of our faith is sharing the gospel with other people. Man, I think too often we've thought of sharing the gospel as a burden and not a blessing. Man, in a world where things are looking hopeless, in a world where people are struggling, we have the opportunity to provide life-changing news. In a world where uh people are tying their joy to their stock portfolio, the gospel of Jesus says there's another way forward. In a world where we're worried about how wars are gonna pass and go and things like that, we have the opportunity to share. There's a king that sits on the throne no matter what kingdoms come and go in this world right now. Like you don't have to be defined by the sin, which makes me ask the hard question. Man, if it's been a long time since I've talked to anyone about Jesus, is the good news still good to me? Man, if you're like me, sometimes I can get so caught up in the things of life that I forget that Jesus' job description for his followers wasn't accrue wealth, it wasn't fine inner peace, it wasn't achieved status, it was share the good news. Could it be that sharing good news isn't just good for the folks who receive it? What if it's good for the ones who are sharing it? What if there's unique things you'll learn about Jesus when you share the good news that's different than the things you'll learn from Jesus in quiet time? And if that's the case, I pray, would we not cut off entire avenues of our spiritual life by refusing to share the gospel? Church, I encourage us, let's make it a priority again. Let's learn how to have spiritual conversations again. Let's make it the norm again that we are the kind of people that share the good news for a world that's dying and in need. And maybe you'll see firsthand how the good news can transform a life. That maybe as you share, God isn't just going to do the work by himself, but he'll give you the opportunity to sit front row. And as someone's life has changed, as someone's pattern of living is changed, as they begin to go from a creature that was bent in upon themselves to one that can finally praise God, you get to sit front row and give God more glory. I say that to say if we're not sharing the good news, we're missing out on that experience. If we're not sharing the good news, we're not joining in the tradition of the earliest church, we're missing out on a lifetime of development. So, church, will we make it our priority this Easter to share the good news? We're gonna get ready to close here in just a minute as the worship team comes on up.

Invitations For Skeptics And Believers

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In just a minute, we're all gonna be heading off to brunches and Easter egg hunts and ham and all sorts of great food. But before we do that, would you remember there's a God who meets you in your questions? Maybe you're here this morning and you've been trying to sort things out your own way, and you're finding out that, hey, my truth isn't working out. I want to invite you to investigate the truth of Jesus Christ. I want to share with you today there is good news that we don't have to aim in the dark anymore, that the light has come, and that is Jesus, and he's here with us now. That because of his life and death and resurrection, you have access to eternal life. You don't have to be ruled by sin any longer. You can ask that same Jesus to take residence in your heart now, and he'll begin renewing you from the inside out. And all he asks is that you believe in him, that you believe in Easter, that you believe in his resurrection, and that you recognize him as the king of your life. Maybe you're here today and you've had serious questions about faith. I beg you, would you take time to give those questions the search they deserve? Don't just think, hey, because I've raised the question, I don't have to go any further. Would you take some time and see if there's an answer there? And maybe in your search you'll find there's a God who's been wanting to meet you all along. Maybe you're here and you've been navigating life and you've got some doubts, you've got some concerns, you've got some difficulties. Would you bring those concerns to Jesus and let him minister to you there? Would you realize it's in his DNA to meet you in the middle of those moments? That if that's the case, if that's who he is, that the question isn't God, where are you? It's hey, where are you already at work? It's not God, where are you at work? It's God, how can I see you more clearly if you are here right now? Or maybe you're here, and it's been a while since you've shared about Jesus. Man, would you be encouraged that the gospel is good news to be shared? That it's life-changing, it's world-altering, that we have the opportunity to help people meet the king of the universe, and all we've got to do is share a story. So, somewhere today between the eggs and the bacon, would you consider making Jesus known? Would you live to see Cranston and Warwick and Calventry in our country and the world all around us celebrating Jesus just like the early disciples did? We trust that there's a God who wants to meet us where we are and not leave us in that place, but make us who we need to be. That's the God we worship. That's the God who died on the cross for our sin and rose on Easter morning so that we may live. And today we get to celebrate and recognize that God. God, you don't wait for us to have it all figured out. You walk with us in the meantime. So, Lord, in that reality, help us to be the kind of people that bring you our everything, to find you in the dowts, to not wait for everything to become clear, but to run in your direction now. God, not only that, would you help us to be the kind of people that share the good news well? God, would you help it to become a passion of ours? God, would it become a drive in our soul to want to see the world know you so you can get the glory you deserve? So, God, we trust you. God, we know that you'll help us. We know that you'll guide us. Lord, help us to be attuned to that. We love you, we praise you, and we worship you now. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Charge To Announce Victory

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Church, the battle has been won. Let's go announce the victory. Let's let the world know that the King has come and that because of him we have salvation, that through his church, people will see a glimmer of the kingdom one more step at a time. Jesus, bless my friends and my family as we leave this place. God help us to proclaim your glory. God, give us the strength and the courage to be bold and speak when necessary. And Lord, to endure when not. God, help us to be bold in our witness, help us to be excited about sharing the good news. God, help us to come honestly with our doubts, and in doing so, we might find that we look a lot more like you. God, we trust you. We love you. Would you bless us this day? In Jesus' powerful name we pray. Amen. Happy Easter, folks. Have a great week.