Post-Resurrection
Scripture: Luke 24:44-53; Isaiah 53; Romans 10:17
The title of my message this morning is “Post-Resurrection.” If you are familiar with the word “publish” you will know that it has several meanings. It could refer to a piece of wood or metal set in the ground in an upright position or it could refer to the back of an earring to keep it in the ear. It can also mean posting something electronically online – you “publish” it. These definitions are not what I am talking about in relation to the resurrection, although this message will be “published” online for others to read. No, the definition I want you to think about when I say publish is how the word is used as a “prefix”. A prefix is a word attached to the beginning of another word to modify its meaning. Therefore, the post-resurrection is the period that follows the resurrection. During this specific period of time something happened that continues to affect our lives today.
Last week I shared with you that if Christ had not risen from the dead, everything we do or have done in His name would have been in vain. I told you that if He had not been resurrected, when we die we would be “really” dead and destined for an eternity in hell. This is not the case for us because He rose from the dead. When he rose from the dead, Christ appeared to some people to encourage them that his resurrection was real. This is what I want us to think about today: how do we really know that he rose from the dead some 2,000 years ago, and what does that mean for us today? In addition to not dying and going to hell because we accept him as our personal Savior. ? I want us to place ourselves in the minds of the followers of Jesus who did not realize that He was going to rise from the dead. Think about how depressed and confused they felt between the time he died and the time he rose from the dead. Now focus on the feelings you experienced when you knew and believed that He had truly risen from the dead. You can see it? Can you feel the joy they felt? Now hold that thought.
Have you ever participated in a sporting event where you competed against others and made it to the championship game and won? Maybe you didn’t participate personally, but your school team or your favorite college or pro team did. Do you remember the day of the event and the celebration that took place after the victory? Do you remember opening the newspaper the next day to read about the event? Do you remember getting in touch with friends and acquaintances and everyone was talking about what had happened the day before “at the big game”? Think about what happened after the Royals won the World Series and the celebration that followed. What about when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl and that celebration? Those celebrations engulfed cities on both sides of the state line. People will remember where they were when those championship games were played and won. Those who attended the celebrations at the center will remember them for the rest of their lives. After those games, I couldn’t open or turn on the news or read the news online without someone commenting on the outcome of those games. If you’ve ever played for a championship team or had a member of your family play during a championship game, you know what I’m talking about. All of these victories are celebrated in the days after the event and people who follow the events talk about it for days, weeks and even years afterward, especially if they were the victors. Some people go to their graves decades later basking in the memories of that important victory. Not only did they celebrate and remember it the day it happened, but they talked about it whenever the opportunity presented itself. They were proud of the event.
Now back to last week. What did you do on Monday morning? Did you get up and start your day like any other day? Were you dreading what was planned for the day as you thought about your calendar and what you had scheduled for Monday? What did you do? Let me ask you another question. On Monday, did you tell anyone about your Easter Sunday celebration? How about Tuesday? Should I even ask about Wednesday? Last Sunday we all celebrated the most important day of our lives. Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Christ, who opened the door for us to have eternal life. Last Sunday we sang praises to God with raised hands as we celebrated the resurrection of Christ. Last Sunday our celebration started in the morning and for most of us ended on Sunday afternoon. However, unlike when we won the big game, we don’t talk about this victory with our friends and neighbors after Easter Sunday. This victory does not appear in the news on Monday and if you look in every newspaper in the country, you will have a hard time finding an article about any celebration after Easter Sunday. Now there are many stores that have “after Easter” deals, but that’s not the celebration I’m talking about.
For Christians, in the weeks leading up to Easter, there is a lot of “Spiritual”. activities that are carried out. We see people fasting and temporarily giving up other things as they prepare for the Passover celebration. Some begin this period 40 days before Holy Week, a time known as “Lent”. Secularly, stores are gearing up for Easter by bringing out their new line of spring clothing in bright pastel colors that signify spring is here. During the weeks leading up to Easter, many people go out shopping for new clothes for that special Easter morning service. When Easter morning finally arrives, we put on our new clothes and head to church to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We celebrate the newness of our “risen” life in our new clothes with an emphasis on enjoying a highly spiritual worship service. During the service we think about what the resurrection of Christ means and rejoice that He has chosen to die for our sins. The music is special and we get our Easter sermon from the pastor. Before Easter, the pastor may have started a special series covering Palm Sunday and what Jesus experienced on His way to the cross, but on Easter Sunday, the special Easter sermon on his resurrection is preached. When the service is over, we catch up with our peers for a bit and then go to Easter brunch or home for a big dinner with family and friends (pre-pandemic). We relax and enjoy this time of inner reflection on what it means to be a Christian and that Christ died for our sins some 2000 years ago. When all the celebrations are complete, we go to bed and wake up to another Monday morning. Another Easter Sunday has passed. Another party has come and gone. Another season of buying new clothes is behind us. Now is the time to get back to the daily grind of living. After the celebration of the resurrection, we return to normality and do not carry the celebration into the following days and weeks.
Does it sound familiar to you? Like I said, this morning I want us to focus on what happened after the first Passover and compare it to what’s happening today. Do you remember last week how you felt when you celebrated the resurrection of Christ? When Monday morning came, did you feel the same way? You didn’t go to church, but Christ had still risen from the dead. Did you think about it or did you focus on what you were doing that day? Christ’s resurrection changed us forever as we accept him as our personal Savior, yet often remain silent about the most important victory we will ever experience. We are not celebrating days or weeks later. We don’t have the euphoric happiness of being so grateful that nothing can bring us down. It is important to understand that how we see Christ in our circumstances will determine how we relate to the resurrection. We could be standing at the foot of the cross helpless and lost and thinking that Christ is not with us; we might be standing at the empty tomb confused about where Christ is in our situation; or we could be standing in Galilee conversing with the Master knowing that our lives have changed forever. Where we stand will determine how we respond to the resurrection and what we do in the days and years after we experience his resurrection. You see, Monday will always follow Easter Sunday, but it doesn’t have to be the same Monday as before.
Every year when we celebrate Easter, there is a certain level of excitement and anticipation. However, when the hype of the celebration ends, we go back to our lives and put the power of the same resurrection that we were celebrating in the background, waiting for the next Easter. If you are a cook, you understand what it means to leave something in the background. The food you place there does not require your immediate attention and focus. God wants us to take the resurrection out of the background and put it in the foreground. He wants us to turn the burner on high so that what the resurrection accomplished FOR us will burn brightly IN us for the world to see. New Light, God wants us to pay special attention to the power of the resurrection and in order for us to do this we must take it out of the background. Our post-resurrection activities cannot be the same as they were when we were not focused on them. Now, we have to live its meaning!
When you read the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, you see the response of the disciples when Jesus first appeared to them after the resurrection. Initially they were afraid (Luke 24:37), but they came to understand that it was truly Jesus who was standing before them. After showing them his hands and feet, they still thought they were seeing a ghost, so Jesus asked them for something to eat. It was only after seeing him eat that they accepted that he had risen from the dead. Once they accepted that he had risen from the dead, Jesus did something that we often overlook when we read history. Luke 24:44-45 records: “Then he said to them, These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything must be fulfilled that is written in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Scriptures. Psalms about me.’ And he opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures.” Verse forty-five says that he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. In other words, Jesus gave them a history lesson so that…