Sunday's Sermon - Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Important? (The Resurrection Is Good News)

Although we all know that Easter is about Jesus Christ being raised from the dead, we may not be quite as clear about the  meaning and significance of this pivotal event in human history. For that reason, for five Sundays in the months of April and May, we’ll consider this question: Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Important? During this series, we’ll consider the following topic: 

• April 7 - The Resurrection Provides Validation
• April 21 - The Resurrection Was Physical
• April 28 - The Resurrection Offers Hope
• May 5 - The Resurrection Is Good News
• May 12 - The Resurrection Anticipated the Holy Spirit

We continued this series on Sunday when we looked how the resurrection of Jesus Christ can shape the way we share the good news. A recording and the text of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDST)

Well, here we are, almost a week into the month of May. And as I remember from when I was teaching, this is a particularly important time for everybody involved in education. I mean, for folks in administration and maintenance, this is the time to start looking forward, and I’m talking about looking forward to some peace and quiet around the office and the school without intrigue from the teacher’s lounge or fights on the playground. And as for the teachers, this is the time to start changing pace, you know, entering final grades and taking stuff off the walls and looking forward to doing something else, right up to that first in-service day in the mid-August. And for the students, man, this is the time to start chilling out and sleeping late and drifting along, that is until your money runs out or practice starts or mom finally says, “Are you going to waste your whole summer doing nothing?” Now, as I remember, that’s what’s about to happen around the school.

And right here, in the church, we’re continuing the series we started right after Easter, one in which we’re focusing on the question, Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Important? Now, during that time, we’ve talked about how the resurrection provided validation, you know, for the life Jesus lived and the work he did and the mission he’s given us to do. And then we looked at how the resurrection also was physical, showing that the real world into which he was raised really is important because it’s in this world where we can see God’s nature and understand our responsibilities. And then last week, we looked at how the resurrection also offers hope, you know, how, according to the Apostle Paul, even though we're going to die, because Jesus was raised, we can have hope that we will too. Now that’s where we’ve been.

And this morning, we’re going to focus on another reason I think the resurrection of Jesus is important, this time how the resurrection is actually Good News. In other words, during this message, we’re going to consider how the resurrection has shaped and continues to shape the proclamation of the gospel. And to do that, we’re going to look at what the Bible has to say and then discuss three different ways the resurrection can affect our ability to communicate with those around us God’s relationship with us and our relationship with him. Now that’s what we’ll be doing for the next ten minutes or so.

For example, first, as it relates to our sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, I believe the resurrection provides unity, and I’m talking about the unity we’re going to need in order to get the job done. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, the resurrection is actually the second most important event that pulled us together as the church and made us what we are today. You see, for me, only Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, is a more important source of unity than the resurrection. Let’s just say, when it comes to unity, the resurrection is a big deal. 

And you know, I think we can see that in Scripture. For example, do you remember what was going on with the disciples before they encountered the resurrected Christ? I mean, do you remember what happened right around the arrest and crucifixion, you know when the heat was on? Let’s see: one betrayed him, one denied him, and the rest...well just listen to the Evangelist Mark: All of Jesus’ disciples ran off and left him. One of them was a young man who was wearing only a linen cloth. And when the men grabbed him, he left the cloth behind and ran away naked. [Mark 14:50-52, CEV] Not something a disciple would want on his resume, right? And then after Jesus had died and was buried, this was how John described the same group: The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. [John 20:19a, CEV] Again, not the best look. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but this sure doesn’t sound like people who are going to evangelize the world. And yet, according to scripture, that all changed when Jesus appeared to them. As a matter of fact, it was his appearance, and I’m talking about the appearance of the resurrected Christ, that seemed to make all the difference. And I’ll tell you, I believe, that’s why Paul wrote this to the Corinthians:

I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. This part is:

Christ died for our sins,

    as the Scriptures say.

He was buried,

    and three days later

he was raised to life,

    as the Scriptures say.

Christ appeared to Peter,

    then to the twelve.

After this, he appeared

to more than five hundred

    other followers.

Most of them are still alive,

    but some have died.

He also appeared to James,

    then to all of the apostles.

Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time. [1 Corinthians 15:3-8, CEV]

You see, it was the appearance of the risen Christ that turned a scattered and frightened group of disciples into a unified body that would change the world.

And you know, it can do the same for us. In other words, I believe a shared faith in the resurrection can draw us together as the church. And I’ll tell you, from what I see happening, this couldn’t come at a better time. I mean, right in our area, congregations are leaving denominations for reasons they believe justify an ecclesiastical divorce. And just like in so many American families, churches are being torn apart by partisan issues. Now that’s what’s happening, and I think we all know it. And without saying that these reasons and these issues aren’t important, maybe, just maybe if we focused on something we all share, you know, like faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then maybe, just maybe not only might we avoid so much of the outright hostility we see now-a-days, who knows, we might even be able to let our defenses down a little bit so that we can actually listen to one another and grow in our faith and relationship with God and then focus on sharing something so much greater than the reasons and issues that are ripping us apart. You see, as it relates to our sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, the resurrection provides unity. And for me that’s one.

And second, I think it also provides direction. In other words, because of the resurrection, not only do we have a common focus that draws us together, I believe we also have some pretty clear direction about what we should be doing and how we should be doing it. 

And I’ll tell you, I think we hear exactly what that is when we listen to what the resurrected Christ told his disciples. You see, it was after the resurrection, when, according to Matthew, 

Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world. [Matthew 28:18–20, CEV]

You see, those disciples not only experienced a sense of unity they hadn’t had before, in a very real way, they received their marching orders from the one whom God had raised from death. 

And I’ll tell you something, so do we. So do we as we go about our daily living with folks who face genuine problems and pain and who at times experience real frustrations and fears and who may be struggling to live with all kinds of disappointments and doubt. You see, that’s the world that we have, even if it’s not exactly the world that we want. But it’s in this world that Christ has sent us to live and it’s for those folks he called us to disciple, in other words, to show them how to live and to invite them into this community and to love them with the same dedication and the same intention and the same intensity that we love ourselves. But you know, that’s only going to happen after we make the decision that we’re going to open our ears and our minds and our hearts and that we’re going to listen and learn and that we’re going to take the instruction offered by our risen Lord and apply it in our world. In other words, as it relates to our sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, the resurrection provides direction. And for me that’s two.

And third, right along with offering us the unity and the direction, I believe the resurrection also provides content, and I’m talking about the core of the message that we carry around with us as we just go about living our lives. In other words, when you’re talking about sharing the good news of Christ to the world, the meaning and significance of the resurrection must be communicated by us, through the words that we use and the lives that we live. 

And just like it was when we talked about unity and direction, I think that the resurrection was central to the message shared by the disciples. For example, right after the coming of the Holy Spirit, in the first sermon preached in the Book of Acts, the Apostle Peter said this:

Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. [Acts 2:22-24, CEV]

Now that was from the first sermon in Acts. And in one of the very last, just listen to what Paul said:

But all this time God has helped me, and I have preached both to the rich and to the poor. I have told them only what the prophets and Moses said would happen. I told them how the Messiah would suffer and be the first to be raised from death, so he could bring light to his own people and to the Gentiles. [Acts 26:22-23, CEV]

You see, whether you’re talking about the beginning or the end, the resurrection was an important part of the message the earliest Christians brought into their world.

And it can be the same for us. And just like Peter and Paul, we can certainly share the resurrection through the words we use. You see, we can tell folks about some of the stuff we’ve been talking about over these last few weeks. For example, we can tell them about how the resurrection reminds us that the teachings of Jesus are worth claiming and that the natural world is worth protecting and that the hope made real in that empty tomb is worth claiming. This we can do. But you know, although talking and telling is all well and good, I think we can actually be more effective sharing the resurrection through the kind of lives we choose to live. I mean, just think about it. Aren’t we sharing the good news every time we choose to follow the example of one whose tomb was empty? And aren’t we sharing the good news every time we show kindness and care for all those things and people who live in this physical world into which Jesus was raised? And aren’t we sharing the good news every time we make the conscious and intentional decision to reject the anger and the hatred and the fear that’s become so common in our world today and to embrace hope? In fact, when we do this kind of stuff, aren’t we sharing the gospel in a way that’s possible for us to do and that the people around us can understand? I think so. And you know what that means; we can share the good news without saying a word. But whether it’s through words or work or a combination of the two, I think this is important for us to do, because, as it relates to our sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, the resurrection provides content. And for me that’s three.

Now, as y’all may remember, at the beginning of this message, I mentioned how the month of May is a big deal for folks involved in education, like those in administration and maintenance and the teachers and the students. Well, unfortunately, I left out two groups who are facing their own stuff, and right now I’m talking about those who are about to graduate and of course, the parents of those who are about to graduate. Man, I think we’d be making a big mistake if we don’t remember the emotional and financial stress that comes from closing one door and opening another.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s also what we should do when we think about the relationship between God raising Jesus and us sharing the good news. You see, I believe we need to remember that the resurrection is pretty important too, because it provides unity and direction and content for us to be able to communicate the message we’ve been called to share. And in that way, well, the resurrection of Jesus really is good news.