Living in the Assurance, the Peace, and the Victory of Jesus' Resurrection!

When you were young, did you ever hurt yourself and go to your mom or your dad crying? If so, did they take you in their arms as your tears flowed and assure you, “Don’t worry. It will be alright.”? Maybe you even believed them. Perhaps they were right. Childhood hurts often heal with time and love.

But, as an adult did you ever experience trouble which caused you worry, despair, possibly even tears? It could be an important relationship was irreparably broken. Possibly, a dearly loved one died, and you know you’ll never have their companionship again in this life. Financial problems, or legal troubles can and do steal our sleep. A doctor’s diagnosis can take our breath away. In these, or other times of trial, if someone tried to assure you, “Don’t worry. It will be alright,” would you believe them? Or would you just think they are trying to calm you down, yet their words carry no truth? Do you feel words of hope and comfort are just empty wishes, the “opiate of the masses?”

If there is any biblical truth which can be proven, it is the truth of sin and evil. All we have to do is look around us to see the evidence. On the one hand we see people who are willing to do anything to get what they want; we see hearts and actions of evil. Unfortunately, on the other hand, even when people try to do good, in politics, in relationships, in their own families, or elsewhere in this life, sometimes even the best intentions lead to failure and disappointment. No wonder our lives are full of pain and disappointment and death. The truth of sin and of evil lead us to cynicism which causes us to doubt that words of assurance, such as “Don’t worry. It will be alright,” can never be true.

That is why the holy days of this week, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, are so important in this world and in our lives.

Good Friday, when Jesus was unjustly executed for crimes others committed, proves that evil is strong. After all, didn’t even the Son of God, Himself, die? But, the events of Easter morning, turn our cynicism and our defeat upside down. Jesus died. Jesus took on the sin of the world. But death did not have the final say. Neither sin, nor evil, nor Satan are more powerful than the loving arms of God. Jesus did die, but THEN, when Jesus rose, He blew the sin and the evil of this world out of the water. He not only defeated the devil, the world, and our flesh for Himself. Jesus defeated our enemies and offers love, forgiveness, hope, joy, and eternal life to us, simply through faith in His sacrificial death and His saving life.

This Sunday, Easter, I am preaching on Mark 16:1-8, the assigned Gospel lesson. I believe these words of God are exactly what our doubting world needs to hear. But, the assigned Epistle lesson is taken from 1 Corinthians 15. The last verses of this chapter might seem even more powerful.

“51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’

55 ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

The sin and evil of this world are unfortunately ugly truth, the fruit of which we experience daily. But, on His cross Jesus faced sin, death, and evil head on. He took all they could give. In His resurrection Jesus overcame the sin and evil which are the source of life’s pain. In His resurrection Jesus won God’s love and forgiveness and life for all who believe in Him.

Many pictures of Jesus’ crucifixion show Him on the cross with His arms extended. As you face the broken relationships, the pain, defeat, the evil and death of this world and of your life, I encourage you to see Jesus’ outstretched arms waiting to hug and assure, “Don’t worry. It will be alright.” Because of Jesus’ death, and especially because of the empty tomb, Jesus’ assurance and love and promises are not empty hope, but the REAL truth of God.

I encourage you celebrate this victory over sin and evil and to worship our Lord this Easter. Let our Savior speak words of love and assurance to you. “Don’t worry. I died for your sins. I rose to win you forgiveness and life. As you believe in me, it really will be alright.”