EASTER! VICTORY!

Of all the special days and holidays of the church there is no day like Easter Day. It has in it the breath of springtime, the light of eternity and the hope of immortality! It is the culmination of all that went before it and the vindication of all that Jesus said and did. For all the doubting it offers proof. For all the sorrowing it offers hope and comfort. For all in darkness it is a great light.


It is a perpetual reminder that death is not the end of existence or personality. It is the risen Savior's message," Because I live, ye shall live also. It is a mandate for missions, "Go tell that He is risen from the dead."


Contrast this with the emptiness of heathen hopelessness, the darkness of heathen minds, the questioning of ancient philosophers, the doubts of modern materialists and the gropings of confused theologians.


We have the writings of Plato and Socrates, those credited as great philosophers and their conclusions reach the point of speculation that there might be a future life, but they have no proof.


I have memorized much of Tomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and have visited his grave at Stokes Poges in the English countryside. There on his mother's tomb is his dreary testimony: "The only one of her seven children who had the misfortune to survive her." It was he who wrote:


"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power


And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave;


Awaits alike the inevitable hour,


The paths of glory lead but to the grave."


Sir William Bourne-Jones, commenting on the funeral of Robert Browning in Westminster Abbey said: "It was somber, impressive, but it lacked the note of victory ... It just needed ... A trumpet blast of victory." Well, Easter has that mighty trumpet note of victory! Now is Christ risen from the dead!


I would like to call you attention to three notes of that trumpet blast:


I The Undeniable Proof


I have meditated under that vaulted ceiling of Westminster Abbey where lie entombed in silent sleep the remains of the noble and the great. It is a sobering place. Also at the tomb of Napoleon in Paris, and in the shadow of the ancient pyramids. Buddha is in his grave, as is Mohammed.


But the tomb of Jesus is empty! A mighty angel rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it! He announced, "He is not here: for He is risen AS HE SAID. Come, see the place where the Lord lay!" St. Luke writes, " He showed Himself alive ... by many infallible proofs." And this was over a period of 40 days - sometimes to one or two, to the eleven, and once to over 500. These were reliable, believable witnesses, but after His resurrection, He was never seen by any but believers. True, Thomas was for a time a doubter.


The resurrection of Jesus is God's proof that all that Jesus said, did, claimed or promised is true!


II The Unlimited Power


Hebrews 13:20 speaks of "The God of peace, that brought from the dead the Lord Jesus ..." And Jesus Himself stated regarding His life "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again," John 10:18. God raised Him; Jesus raised Himself - there is no contradiction here, for He and the Father are one. Still more, Jesus stated, " I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John 11:25. He not only has resurrection power, but said, "I am resurrection. I am Life."


III The Unfailing Promise


The promise of Jesus, "I will rise again the third day" was on schedule; and Peter on the day of Pentecost stated with confidence regarding the grave, "Because it was not possible that He should be holden of it." Not possible! He was Lord over death. He is Lord over death! And His promise is, "Because I live, ye shall live also."


Over centuries of time, various prophets and psalmists gave voice to prophecies concerning Messiah. Scores of these were fulfilled with amazing accuracy in the last few days of Jesus on earth. It was after His resurrection that Jesus gave the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Not only that, He said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."


As David Livingstone once said, "It is the word of a Gentleman." We can depend on it!