Easter Day
1 Corinthians 15:12-26
April Fools Joke?
April 1, 2018
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
Alleluia Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Over the years, jokes and hoaxes have been made on this day. Some have been elaborate and some have been childish and silly. And no, I’m not talking about April Fools Day, but rather Easter.
There’s no getting around Easter. You’ve got to do something with this Jesus. Like Him or not, believe in Him or not, follow Him or not, there’s no getting around Him. Either He really did die and rise again on the third day, or He didn’t. CS Lewis once quipped, very appropriately about this very fact. “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to… He is a lunatic, a liar, or Lord (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)
So which is it? Is Jesus a joker? Are Christians? Or are we the butt of the joke itself? The answer to those questions all hinges on today, on Easter, on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The sinful world, unbelievers, the devil scoff at the sight of Christians gathering today. Jesus might have been a lunatic or liar, but His followers are certain worse, persisting in a fairy tale. Everyone know that the resurrection is impossible, by definition. The dead are dead, not alive. There’s no changing that.
If the resurrection didn’t happen, we are the biggest suckers in all of history, the biggest fools, the most pathetic of everyone. St. Paul writes it plain clear, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and your are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people the most to be pitied.”
But if Jesus actually did rise from the dead, then that changes everything. St. Paul continues, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom of God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).
Easter is no joke. The world may think lightly of what we do here today and what happened 2000 years ago. They may mock, they may ridicule, they may promote false news, Let them. Though the Gospel we preach may be a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, we are no fools. By God’s grace, by the witness of the women from the tomb, by the appearance to the Twelve in the upper room, by the Lord meeting His disciples on the road to Emmaus, by the account of Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, we know and believe what happened to our Savior. We know what needed to happen for the sake of the world.
The world is broken, and we become fools if we think we can fix it of our own power. Evil and tragedy abound. We can argue all day long on legislation, policy, rights and amendments, but at the end of the day, the real problem lies here, in the heart of sinful man. Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, com evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).
We are defiled, each and every one of us here. This teaching exposes the uselessness of our own excuses and dismisses the claim that other people and other things are to blame for our own shortcomings and failures. This is no joking matter, your sin is evil, it defiles you, it condemns you.
Repent. Repent of your sinful desires, your sinful inclinations, your delusions of grandeur and attempts to prop yourself up as your own god, your own king, the one who has ultimate control over your own life. Repent from treating Jesus, the Lord of Life, the crucified and resurrected Son of God, as a joke.
It’s no joke. Jesus really was born in Bethlehem. It’s no joke. Jesus really changed water in wine, healed the lepers and the blind and the lame, walked on water, rose Lazarus from the dead, was transfigured before His disciples. It’s no joke. He really was put on trial, hung on the cross, died and was buried. It’s no joke. Three days later, His tomb was empty. He appeared to His disciples, to hundreds later, He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. It’s no joke, He really sent the Holy Spirit upon Pentecost and through the waters of your baptism. It’s no joke. He really delivers His forgiveness, His life, His salvation by the means of His body and blood in the Holy Sacrament. It’s no joke, He really is returning and will call all out of their graves.
Death and the devil and the enemies of Christ may have thought they got Jesus. He was beaten, crucified, died, and buried. But the joke’s on them. Their apparent victory was short lived, as we just sang about. The tables were turned. What sinful man intended for evil, God used for the good of all.
There are times in our lives when it may seem as though Satan has triumphed, as though we are lost. Despair, depression, and doubt are not foreign to our Christian lives. Easter shows us the lasting victory of the Resurrection of Jesus, both His victory and your victory. April fools, sin. April fools, death. April fool’s Satan. The joke’s on you. For Christ is risen, He is risen indeed, alleluia!