Easter Sunday People Living In A Good Friday World*

This morning we celebrate one of the most important Christian events, Easter. Christianity rests on the foundation that Christ died and was resurrected. The celebration of His resurrection not only reminds us of the price He paid for us on the cross, but the greatest gift that He made available to us, eternal life. 

This morning my Easter message is simply this, we live in a Good Friday World but we are Easter Sunday People. 

The Good Friday World

It all started the night before when Judas, one of Christ’s disciples and one that He trusted, made the decision to betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver. 

His act of betrayal set in motion a series of events that can only be described as traumatic. 

Good Friday is known as the day of suffering, Christ suffering, which led to our salvation. Through Christ’s suffering, we are given direct access to God.

When you think about what Christ went through, all of the suffering at the hands of His fellow man, and what that Friday came to be known as, think of our world today. The world is stuck in Good Friday -many believe Jesus died only. They see no hope!

We are living in a Good Friday World, a world that is stuck in  suffering, pain and violence.

Mark 15: 1-5, 15-19, 22-24a: 15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

… 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

….22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him…. 

The suffering Jesus went through is all the world knows how to give. It vilifies hates, destroys that which apposes it.

Jesus’ suffering is beyond to anything we might know. Why? He was taking the sins of the whole world, past, present and future upon Himself. Isaiah prophesied about it:

Isaiah 53: 1-7: Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Jesus in His suffering for us became unrecognisable. The beatings, the scourging, having His beard ripped out, and the final crucifixion. Isaiah says: 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Yet He was innocent of all charges! 

A Good Friday World is a world full of suffering, questioning, unfairness, trouble, mistakes, hurts, losses, injustice and  grief. It is a world of self-centredness, a world of deceit and pain. 

A Good Friday World is a world of fear, of anxiety, of depression and shame. 

A Good Friday World contains the unknown, the "what ifs" and all of the doubts. 

Yet Jesus died and took our punishment!

TAKE COMMUNION: this is my body, this is my blood.

Yes we live in a Good Friday World and we are faced with all of the things a Good Friday World holds, but we are still Easter Sunday People. 

We Are Easter Sunday People

What are Easter Sunday People?

We are Easter Sunday People, people who live in a Good Friday World as "visitors." (Philippians 3:20)

Let me explain this a little bit more. When Jesus was arrested, His disciples responded in the acceptable way of people living in a Good Friday World, they fled the scene. 

The disciples knowing of the suffering and crucifixion of their leader, went into hiding. 

All of the emotions of a Good Friday World went through them: 

• The fear of being killed; 
• the questioning of what had happened and what it meant; 
• the loss or Christ and their accompanying grief; 
• and their anxiety of what would happen to them. 

They went into hiding and most were not present for the crucifixion, but something happened. 

On Easter Sunday, something happened that changed their lives forever. Although they lived in a Good Friday World, they would become what we are today, Easter Sunday People. 

Mark 16: 19-20: 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Early on Sunday morning (Easter Sunday) Jesus got up and walked out of the grave, alive and well. 

When the disciples first heard about it, some did not believe. They were still operating according to the standards of a Good Friday World (Mark 16:7) 

When Jesus appeared to them Himself and they saw that He was alive and well, the disciples were no longer afraid. They were no longer willing to remain in hiding. They had work to do and they were going to go out and get it done. 

Nothing about their situation had changed, they were still marked men who were subject to being killed for their faith. However, whereas before they interacted with the risen Jesus they were scared, now their fear was gone. 

The only thing that mattered was doing the will of Jesus, the one who was once dead but was now alive for evermore. 

Although they were still living in a Good Friday World, they had become Easter Sunday People. 

Easter Sunday is the most sacred day for a Christian. This is the day that we have set aside to remember the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

We remember His suffering on Good Friday but we praise God for His resurrection on Sunday morning. We are Easter Sunday People. 

Because of Christ’s resurrection, we now have life and we have it more abundantly (John 10:10). 

We also recognise that when we leave this place, we have a better home, one being planned for us; one that is not characterised by pain and suffering (John 14:1-7; Revelation 7:17; 21:4). 

But while we are here, living in a Good Friday World filled with pain, suffering, doubts and fears, we should live as Easter Sunday People.

• Easter Sunday People have a reason to praise God, even in the midst of all of their circumstances, they can give God praise. 
• Easter Sunday People understand that this is all temporary. 
• Easter Sunday People know that although there may be times when we are suffering, it will not last always. 
• Easter Sunday People know that although we are living in a Good Friday World, we are not of this world. Our home is not this world so therefore we do not have to give in to its ways of doing things. 

You are an Easter Person! Don’t forget this as you continue living in a Good Friday World.

* I acknowledge Pastor Rodney V Johnson for basis of this phrase.