Celebrate Easter, for it’s coming.
For so many in the world, Easter is an important day. There will be first-time worshippers, those who will attend church on Easter Sunday, attending that one Sunday of the year, for it is just the right and expected practice to do. Then for the next fifty-one Sundays, the day of Sabbath returns to its normal practice of celebrating two Saturday-like days that follow the long work week. For these individuals, the words of Jesus hold little meaning.
“Jesus said to her [to Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary],
(The Gospel According to John 11: 25-26 NASB)
“Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am the resurrection and the life,
he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
For some, the words of Jesus do not change their hearts, for there remains a hardness, a wall surrounding the heart, one that keeps them encased in darkness. Martha was grieving her brother Lazarus’ death, and found Jesus’ words true on the literal level, for she was a believer in Christ Jesus, and she knew her brother would arise from the dead—someday—when Christ returned for His church. However, on this particular day, Jesus wished for Martha to understand the truth: “I am the resurrection and the life,” meaning: Jesus commanded life over death—today. There was no need for Martha to wait for her brother Lazarus to arise from the dead, for JESUS WAS AND IS LIFE ETERNAL—RIGHT NOW!
JESUS COMMANDS LIFE.
JESUS SUSTAINS LIFE. &
JESUS MAINTAINS LIFE.
“he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”
Since this is Truth, each man, woman, boy and girl must individually answer the question Jesus asks—
“Do you believe this?”
Yes, there are believers who will attend Easter Sunday church, who believe in Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead, who have given their hearts to Jesus, and who simply believe that Jesus is “their” resurrection and “their” life. They CHOOSE to BELIEVE.
These who attend church on Easter Sunday, their annual practice will also attend church the other fifty-two Sundays, worshipping with other believers, celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection every day they arise from their slumber (Sunday through Saturday for 365 days) and who worship God every week of EVERY WEEK, not just on Easter Sunday.
These individuals know and realize and firmly believe that through JESUS, they have been resurrected from the dead. Not only is Jesus “the resurrection and life,” for His own life but He made and continues to make it possible through His crucifixion on the cross, through His forgiveness of sins, and through His resurrection from the dead to be THEIR RESURRECTION AND LIFE—TODAY.
When a person gives his life to Christ, he no longer must wait until death to be resurrected from the dead. His old life has already died, and in his death of his former life, he has been resurrected from death to life. The apostle Paul spoke it like this in the Scripture.
“Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.”
(The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 6: 14 NASB)
As a believer in Jesus, as a Christian, and as a child of Holy God, my life not longer belongs to me; it belongs to God. All believers in Jesus, All Christians, and All children of Holy God say these words: Our lives no longer belong to us; out lives belong to God—Spirit, Soul, and Body—for in Christ, our dead bodies (just as with Lazarus) have been raised from the dead, even while we lived and breathed here on earth. We were one time the walking dead (before we chose to believe in Jesus) and then through Jesus’ work on the cross and in the grave, our dead bodies were RESURRECTED from death to life.
To help Martha believe He was CURRENTLY & FOREVER “the resurrection and the life,” JESUS COMMANDED LAZARUS TO COME FORTH FROM HIS EARTHLY GRAVE.
“Therefore, when Mary [Martha’s sister] came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
(The Gospel According to John 11: 32-35 & 38-42a & 43-44 NASB)
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping,
He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus wept.
. . .
“So Jesus again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb.
Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, but this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they removed the stone.”
. . .
[then Jesus raised His eyes toward heaven and prayed to God,
so everyone present would know the LORD GOD through JESUS raises the dead to new life]
“When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come forth.”
“The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.
Jesus said to them,
“Unbind him, and let him go.”
For so many in the world, Easter is an important day.
- Not only did Jesus resurrect Lazarus from the dead.
- Not only did Jesus resurrect Himself from the dead.
- In the same way, as believers, Jesus has resurrected our bodies from the dead to new life.
Jesus asked Martha when He said: “Do you believe this?”
Jesus reassured Mary when He said: “Where have you laid him”
Jesus reaffirmed His deity when He said: “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Jesus showed the world His power over death when He said: “Lazarus, come forth.”
Nevertheless, there becomes a distinct difference between those who believe and those who choose to NOT believe. Their uniqueness is found in “why” they attend worship each Easter Sabbath. Some will attend because it’s ritualistic, attending one time each calendar year, while others will attend every week, including Resurrection Sunday because they have already CHOSEN TO BELIEVE.
Celebrate Easter, for it’s coming. How will you celebrate?