A Word about Easter Blessings

Today I want to share a word about Easter blessings as I comment on passages from John Chapters 20 and 21.

I was truly blessed to be asked to preach on Easter Sunday this year. It is a rare thing for me as a denominational leader to preach on Easter or Christmas because few pastors are going to miss those special days.

When I was a young seminary student, I was called on to preach a Christmas sermon at the last minute. I was called at midnight to preach for a sick pastor, and I didn’t have a Christmas sermon! Believe it or not, an even greater challenge was presented to me when my wife and I were missionaries in Africa. The church we were attending had scheduled a local minister to preach for their Easter service one year. Our pastor and another were going to swap pulpits that Easter. 

My family was sitting at the back of the sanctuary and we were enjoying the worship experience, when I felt a tapping on my shoulder. Two single ladies who were from a Bible translation ministry were sitting behind me and one of them leaned forward and said, “I hope you have a sermon in your Bible, because the preacher isn’t here and it’s just about time for the sermon!”

 I actually didn’t have a sermon in my Bible that day so, while the choir was singing the anthem I desperately prayed for guidance!  God brought to my mind the Centurion at the foot of the Cross, and that’s what I preached about.

In the USA, there is no such thing as a bad, short, sermon, but standards in Africa were a little different. I didn’t preach for very long, but I gave it my best shot! I was blessed if no one else was! Just for the record, the scheduled preacher showed up right after everyone had left for home. There was a mix-up in times.

The thing is, the Easter story is one with many dimensions, and one dimension is the way God blessed the Disciples that first Easter Sunday. Let’s look at a few of those blessings today.

First, We See The Blessing of Recovery; What Was Once Lost Has Now Been Found:

John 20:11-18 tells us:

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Losing an item is frustrating and disturbing. After all, you needed that item, or you would not have gotten it. If it is lost, not only have you wasted the money used to purchase it, but whatever task that you needed the item for will not get done. So, what you do is you make an extraordinary effort to find it. Luke 15:8-10 describes what we might do in those circumstances:

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

I recently had a situation just like this one. I had purchased two extra chargers for my computer so I could have one in my bag, one at home, and one at work. Then, I put them in a very safe place. A place that was so safe I could not find them! Like the woman, I turned my house upside down and found them.

Losing a loved one is even more distressing. We have all experienced this type of loss, and certainly many people have during the past year. A lost loved one leaves a hole in our lives and an aching for the relationship that takes much time to heal. Jesus understood this pain as He illustrated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This parable is better called the Parable of the Loving or Grieving Father.

All of the followers of Jesus were hurting that first Easter. They had walked with Jesus for months and even years. He was central to their lives, and yet He was ripped away from them violently and almost without warning. Now, however, He was found again by Mary, and she was blessed beyond measure!

Next, We See The Blessing of Revelation; What Was Once Hidden Now Has Been Made Clear:

John 20:19-21 tells us:

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 

The world is full of dynamic personalities that look to gain a following.  Some want notoriety and fame. Some want money. Some want power. All of them want you to follow them.

The Disciples knew that Jesus was special, but they didn’t really understand His goals. Some people had followed Him because of His miracles. People like to be fed, and they like to be healed. Some people thought He was going establish an earthly kingdom and drive out the Roman oppressors. The Apostles asked Jesus about this as late as Acts 1: 6-8 which says,

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Peter even got so confused on the Mount of Transfiguration that he wanted to build houses and stay there!

Jesus revealed several key truths to the Disciples on that first Easter: 

• Jesus had come to bring peace, but not political peace or social peace. He came to bring us peace with God.
• To bridge the gap between fallen and sinful humanity and the perfect Creator of all things there had to be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus had to die for human sins, and He had to rise to defeat death and hell.
• He also came to allow us to have a part in this work. We have the blessing of bringing His peace to all who will receive it.

My mother-in-law made it her practice to send gifts to her children on every imaginable occasion. She truly believed it was better to give than receive and she sent us Easter baskets for literally decades. She only quit when she moved into a retirement home. 

Her giving was a blessing to both her and to her children, but an even greater blessing is to share the peace of Jesus with our family and friends.

Next, We See The Blessing of Rejoicing; Those Who were In Sorrow Have Been Made Joyous:

John 20:24-28 says,

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

 One thing I have learned in ministry is that people grieve in many different ways. Some lash out in anger and rage. Some withdraw in fear and depression. Some refuse to accept their loss at all.

A member of a church that I pastored in seminary had lost her husband years before I arrived on the scene. She was so distraught that her family physician gave her sedatives to calm her emotions. Sadly, she could not remember the funeral because of the effects of those sedatives. This caused her to grieve for years and years.

Knowing these things is it hard for me to criticize Thomas. The events of Good Friday were shocking to all of Jesus’s followers. Thomas’s reaction is a natural, human one. He had seen Jesus brutalized, and he had seen Jesus die. He just could not believe what he was hearing. He was hopeless, helpless, and hapless!

Let’s look at the difference meeting Jesus made to Thomas His faith and belief were restored and he praised Jesus and worshipped Him! He was no longer hopeless, helpless, and hapless; but instead he had faith, hope, and love

The foundations of our lives have been shaken over the past year, with COVID-19, social unrest, political unrest, and spiritual unrest. It would be hard for me to criticize anyone who is feeling today like Thomas was after Good Friday. 

The answer to our needs is the same as for Thomas. We need to meet Jesus face-to-face!

Finally, We See The Blessing of Restoration; Those Who Failed Have Been Made Reappointed:

John 21:15-17 tells us,

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

There are two types of people in the world: those who have failed, and those who will. No one is without fault. All have sinned. There is none righteous, no not one! 

All that being said, when Peter failed, he did so spectacularly!

He was probably the closest friend of Jesus. He had boldly, even brashly, proclaimed his loyalty to Jesus. When the time came to perform, however, Peter could talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

There is a saying, “Go big or go home.” Peter always would “Go big,” even, or especially in his failures. Jesus even called him Satan to his face once!

Now that Jesus had risen, Peter didn’t know what to do.

• Could their relationship ever be the same?
• Could Peter ever be a leader of Jesus’s followers again?
• Could Jesus overcome his betrayal?

Often, when you don’t know what to do, you go with what you know. If all you have is a hammer, all the world is a nail. And Peter knew how to fish, so he went fishing!

Peter was right to be chastened. It is a crisis when leaders fail; they are expected to be more mature than other church members. They are expected to be able to guard their hearts, and their passions, and their behavior.

When leaders fail, they need to step back for a time to work out their spiritual issues before they can lead again. Some never can lead again.

Peter was blessed after the first Easter, because Jesus restored him to fellowship, to ministry, and to leadership. Jesus gave Peter charge over the ones most precious to Him, the sheep of his flock!

The definition of “justification” as “Just as if I’d never sinned,” has never been truer than in the case of Jesus restoring Peter on the lakeshore.

Conclusion:

We know that Easter has brought us more than just these few blessings. In fact, John, himself, said, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

The question is not was Easter a blessing. The question is are you letting what happened through the first Easter be a blessing to you?

The people we have seen in John Chapters 20 and 21 are people just like you and me. They had the same wants, the same needs, the same faults, and the same hopes. They found their answers in the blessings of Jesus and we can find our answers there too!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt