Resurrection Sunday 2023
I would like to take this opportunity to get BATMQ.NET’s 2023 Resurrection Sunday’s message out in front of the Easter bunny, egg hunts, plants, candy, parades, new clothes, and family feasts, that are a traditional part of the annual celebration of “Easter” that compete for the focus of our attention.
It was early on a Sunday morning that some of His female disciples had gone to the tomb with the perfumes and spices to complete the post mortem burial rituals, only to be told by an angel that His body wasn’t there, and that He had risen from the dead (1).
During the three days and three nights that His body was in the tomb, Jesus was in the “heart of the Earth,” aka the Paradise section of Hades (2).
Prior to the arrival of the women at the tomb early on Sunday morning, Jesus had been reunited with His body that had been placed in the tomb and was later raised in resurrection form.
The angel did not open the tomb to let Jesus out, but to allow the women to go inside to observe the empty tomb.
As further instructed, the women brought the Good News of His resurrection to His disciples, but the message was initially received as “nonsense” (3).
When Jesus later appeared to His disciples, He reprimanded them for their lack of faith (4).
Before, and including at the time of His Ascension, He appeared to several of His disciples, being seen by as many as 500 witnesses, after being raised from the dead (5).
There were several other pieces of corroborating evidence that His atoning work had been completed ON the cross, and that three days later, He had risen. The was an earthquake when He died, and the Temple vail was immediately torn from top to bottom. There were some believers who had died that appeared in Jerusalem after His resurrection (6).
On Resurrection Sunday, and every time we participate in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) throughout the year, we do so to bring to mind His life, substitutionary sacrifice, death, and resurrection.
I prefer to refer to the annual holiday (holy day) as Resurrection Sunday, rather than Easter.
I do so, because the naming of the holiday Easter, I believe, had its roots in the Pagan world that venerated the goddess Eostre. During the Spring, when the annual cycle of new life in the natural realm manifested itself, this goddess was worshiped.
The Christian Community has a long history of taking Pagan practices and making them a part of the Church Age tradition, after putting a “Christian” spin on them.
It has done the same with activities that were intended for the Old Testament dispensation, as well. But these issues are lessons for another day.
Referring to the holiday as Resurrection Sunday does a better of job conveying what it is that we are to celebrate.
The primary message of Resurrection Sunday, and it’s cause for celebration, can be summed up in just three words.
He has risen!
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reiterates the significance of Jesus’ resurrection by noting what would be true if He had not risen.
“… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain (1Cor. 15: 14 NASB).”
“… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins (1Cor. 15: 17 NASB).”
If Christ had not been raised, it would have meant that the atoning, substitutionary sacrifice in our place, that He made, failed to make full payment of the world’s sin debt, including the sin debt of each and every one of us. The perceived need to add additional requirements to either obtain, retain, or regain salvation promotes the same blasphemous concept, diminishing the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As it has been said, He paid a debt that He didn’t owe, and a debt that no amount of human effort, including the religious traditions of men, could have ever paid.
It was His resurrection that gave credibility to everything He had claimed to be, had taught, and had done. It was the confirmation of His resurrection that removed all doubts in the minds of His disciples. It was His resurrection that gives us confidence that all future prophecies concerning Him, and our eternal future with Him, will be fulfilled.
Jesus taught that more blessed (worthy to be praised) are the ones who believe without the need of tangible evidence.
“Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed (John 20: 29 NASB).”
Virtually everyone in the civilized world, including atheists and agnostics, will acknowledge that there had been a First Century historical figure named Jesus. After all, even secular scientists and historians record events as having taken place either BC or AD, acknowledging the time period of His presence here on Earth.
Among His teachings, Jesus made it clear that unless one believes that He was, and is, ALL that He claimed to be, one would die in His sins (7).
Those who physically die in their sin, as a result of disbelieving in the unadulterated Gospel Message, will spend all of eternity future in what the Bible calls the lake of fire (8).
The devil ‘s awareness of the blessings (eternal life) associated with belief and the consequences (eternal condemnation) associated with disbelief in the unadulterated Gospel Message is made clear in his objectives in the realm of Church Age spiritual warfare (9).
The devil has no reason to attack, and every reason to promote, the institutions and followers of false religions throughout the world, and to promote the false religious teachings and practices that have evolved within what most folks consider to be a part of the Christian Community.
The devil and the counterfeit alternatives (false religion, good deeds, good behavior) that he promotes, appeal to the fallen nature in Man that supports the concept that Man can save himself. The devil’s efforts are enhanced by the endorsement of religious leadership that he has deceived.
Christians without a Biblically edified soul structure become easy targets in the realm of spiritual combat (10).
One MUST (not an option) be born again by placing his or her faith (trust and confidence) in the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (11).
The devil and his Eph. 6:12 forces of evil are most successful, when and where, his and their are presence and influence are least expected, making an apostate pulpit his primary base of operations.
The presence of false teachers, false doctrines, and false practices within the Christian Community are no surprise to edified disciples. Such things have taken root throughout the course of the Church Age.
Jesus, and His apostles, clearly warned that this would take place, especially during the End Times, just prior to His return (12).
Many folks outside of the Christian Community will go as far as conceding that Jesus was a prophet, and that miraculous activity could be attributed to Him, but deny His deity.
Many will say that His teachings represent one of many “paths” to Heaven.
Many who identify themselves as Christians, dispute that faith alone in Him and His atoning Work will save a soul. They will maintain their perceived need for one to participate in the religious traditions and rituals of their chosen denominations, in order to complete and maintain the work that Jesus declared “finished” on the cross (13).
Many such individuals are undoubtedly sincere, but sad to say, are sincerely wrong. Sincere faith in the wrong things will not save or edify anyone (14).
The only Biblical requirement to be saved is for each individual soul to believe in the Person and the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only means for a saved soul to be further edified, is obedience to the 2Pet. 3: 18 commands. That is to grow in the grace and in the accurate knowledge of the Lord.
To avoid confusion, one must learn the difference between the one single requirement to be saved, and the many requirements associated with successfully executing the post salvation spiritual life. Religion tends to roll the requirement of salvation and the many requirements for discipleship into one ball of wax. The post salvation spiritual life has got nothing to do with retaining salvation, but has everything to do, with discipleship.
How is one to distinguish the difference between the teaching of God, the traditions of men, and the doctrines of demons?
The answer is found in Acts 17: 11.
“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (Acts 17: 11 NASB).”
Resurrection Sunday is celebrated the way that God desires, each and every time the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) takes place. The stated purpose for this celebration is not to reproduce, but to “bring into remembrance” the body (Person) and the atoning Work that Jesus accomplished while physically alive, shedding His blood on the cross.
The physical death of His body set the stage for the reunification of His soul and Spirit with His body that had been placed in the tomb, when it was raised in Resurrection form, three days later.
The celebration of The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is to take place as a REMINDER of what as already taken place, and the significance of what has already taken place to what is taking place in our daily lives here on Earth, and assurance of what is to take place in the future (15).
Christians have great cause to celebrate the message of Resurrection Sunday.
He is risen!
(1)\tLuke 23: 56/MATT. 28: 6 (2) Matt. 12: 40/Luke 23: 43 (3) Luke 24: 11 (4) Mark 16: 14 (5) Matt. 28: 9, 10/Luke 24: 15, 34/Mark 16:14/John 21: 7/Acts 1: 3/ 1Cor. 15: 6 (6) Matt. 27: 50 – 54 (7) John 8: 24/John 14: 6 (8) Rev. 20: 15 (9) John 3: 16/ Rev. 20: 15/Eph. 6: 12 (10) Matt. 7: 24-27/Hosea 4: 6 (11) John 3: 5, 7, 16, 18 (12) 1Tim. 4: 1/2Tim. 4: 3, 4 (13) John 19: 30 (14) Matt. 7: 22-23 (15) 1Cor. 11: 26/Phil. 1: 27/John 14: 3
I would like to take this opportunity to get BATMQ.NET’s 2023 Resurrection Sunday’s message out in front of the Easter bunny, egg hunts, plants, candy, parades, new clothes, and family feasts, that are a traditional part of the annual celebration of “Easter” that compete for the focus of our attention.
It was early on a Sunday morning that some of His female disciples had gone to the tomb with the perfumes and spices to complete the post mortem burial rituals, only to be told by an angel that His body wasn’t there, and that He had risen from the dead (1).
During the three days and three nights that His body was in the tomb, Jesus was in the “heart of the Earth,” aka the Paradise section of Hades (2).
Prior to the arrival of the women at the tomb early on Sunday morning, Jesus had been reunited with His body that had been placed in the tomb and was later raised in resurrection form.
The angel did not open the tomb to let Jesus out, but to allow the women to go inside to observe the empty tomb.
As further instructed, the women brought the Good News of His resurrection to His disciples, but the message was initially received as “nonsense” (3).
When Jesus later appeared to His disciples, He reprimanded them for their lack of faith (4).
Before, and including at the time of His Ascension, He appeared to several of His disciples, being seen by as many as 500 witnesses, after being raised from the dead (5).
There were several other pieces of corroborating evidence that His atoning work had been completed ON the cross, and that three days later, He had risen. The was an earthquake when He died, and the Temple vail was immediately torn from top to bottom. There were some believers who had died that appeared in Jerusalem after His resurrection (6).
On Resurrection Sunday, and every time we participate in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) throughout the year, we do so to bring to mind His life, substitutionary sacrifice, death, and resurrection.
I prefer to refer to the annual holiday (holy day) as Resurrection Sunday, rather than Easter.
I do so, because the naming of the holiday Easter, I believe, had its roots in the Pagan world that venerated the goddess Eostre. During the Spring, when the annual cycle of new life in the natural realm manifested itself, this goddess was worshiped.
The Christian Community has a long history of taking Pagan practices and making them a part of the Church Age tradition, after putting a “Christian” spin on them.
It has done the same with activities that were intended for the Old Testament dispensation, as well. But these issues are lessons for another day.
Referring to the holiday as Resurrection Sunday does a better of job conveying what it is that we are to celebrate.
The primary message of Resurrection Sunday, and it’s cause for celebration, can be summed up in just three words.
He has risen!
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reiterates the significance of Jesus’ resurrection by noting what would be true if He had not risen.
“… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain (1Cor. 15: 14 NASB).”
“… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins (1Cor. 15: 17 NASB).”
If Christ had not been raised, it would have meant that the atoning, substitutionary sacrifice in our place, that He made, failed to make full payment of the world’s sin debt, including the sin debt of each and every one of us. The perceived need to add additional requirements to either obtain, retain, or regain salvation promotes the same blasphemous concept, diminishing the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As it has been said, He paid a debt that He didn’t owe, and a debt that no amount of human effort, including the religious traditions of men, could have ever paid.
It was His resurrection that gave credibility to everything He had claimed to be, had taught, and had done. It was the confirmation of His resurrection that removed all doubts in the minds of His disciples. It was His resurrection that gives us confidence that all future prophecies concerning Him, and our eternal future with Him, will be fulfilled.
Jesus taught that more blessed (worthy to be praised) are the ones who believe without the need of tangible evidence.
“Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed (John 20: 29 NASB).”
Virtually everyone in the civilized world, including atheists and agnostics, will acknowledge that there had been a First Century historical figure named Jesus. After all, even secular scientists and historians record events as having taken place either BC or AD, acknowledging the time period of His presence here on Earth.
Among His teachings, Jesus made it clear that unless one believes that He was, and is, ALL that He claimed to be, one would die in His sins (7).
Those who physically die in their sin, as a result of disbelieving in the unadulterated Gospel Message, will spend all of eternity future in what the Bible calls the lake of fire (8).
The devil ‘s awareness of the blessings (eternal life) associated with belief and the consequences (eternal condemnation) associated with disbelief in the unadulterated Gospel Message is made clear in his objectives in the realm of Church Age spiritual warfare (9).
The devil has no reason to attack, and every reason to promote, the institutions and followers of false religions throughout the world, and to promote the false religious teachings and practices that have evolved within what most folks consider to be a part of the Christian Community.
The devil and the counterfeit alternatives (false religion, good deeds, good behavior) that he promotes, appeal to the fallen nature in Man that supports the concept that Man can save himself. The devil’s efforts are enhanced by the endorsement of religious leadership that he has deceived.
Christians without a Biblically edified soul structure become easy targets in the realm of spiritual combat (10).
One MUST (not an option) be born again by placing his or her faith (trust and confidence) in the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (11).
The devil and his Eph. 6:12 forces of evil are most successful, when and where, his and their are presence and influence are least expected, making an apostate pulpit his primary base of operations.
The presence of false teachers, false doctrines, and false practices within the Christian Community are no surprise to edified disciples. Such things have taken root throughout the course of the Church Age.
Jesus, and His apostles, clearly warned that this would take place, especially during the End Times, just prior to His return (12).
Many folks outside of the Christian Community will go as far as conceding that Jesus was a prophet, and that miraculous activity could be attributed to Him, but deny His deity.
Many will say that His teachings represent one of many “paths” to Heaven.
Many who identify themselves as Christians, dispute that faith alone in Him and His atoning Work will save a soul. They will maintain their perceived need for one to participate in the religious traditions and rituals of their chosen denominations, in order to complete and maintain the work that Jesus declared “finished” on the cross (13).
Many such individuals are undoubtedly sincere, but sad to say, are sincerely wrong. Sincere faith in the wrong things will not save or edify anyone (14).
The only Biblical requirement to be saved is for each individual soul to believe in the Person and the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only means for a saved soul to be further edified, is obedience to the 2Pet. 3: 18 commands. That is to grow in the grace and in the accurate knowledge of the Lord.
To avoid confusion, one must learn the difference between the one single requirement to be saved, and the many requirements associated with successfully executing the post salvation spiritual life. Religion tends to roll the requirement of salvation and the many requirements for discipleship into one ball of wax. The post salvation spiritual life has got nothing to do with retaining salvation, but has everything to do, with discipleship.
How is one to distinguish the difference between the teaching of God, the traditions of men, and the doctrines of demons?
The answer is found in Acts 17: 11.
“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (Acts 17: 11 NASB).”
Resurrection Sunday is celebrated the way that God desires, each and every time the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) takes place. The stated purpose for this celebration is not to reproduce, but to “bring into remembrance” the body (Person) and the atoning Work that Jesus accomplished while physically alive, shedding His blood on the cross.
The physical death of His body set the stage for the reunification of His soul and Spirit with His body that had been placed in the tomb, when it was raised in Resurrection form, three days later.
The celebration of The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is to take place as a REMINDER of what as already taken place, and the significance of what has already taken place to what is taking place in our daily lives here on Earth, and assurance of what is to take place in the future (15).
Christians have great cause to celebrate the message of Resurrection Sunday.
He is risen!
(1)\tLuke 23: 56/MATT. 28: 6 (2) Matt. 12: 40/Luke 23: 43 (3) Luke 24: 11 (4) Mark 16: 14 (5) Matt. 28: 9, 10/Luke 24: 15, 34/Mark 16:14/John 21: 7/Acts 1: 3/ 1Cor. 15: 6 (6) Matt. 27: 50 – 54 (7) John 8: 24/John 14: 6 (8) Rev. 20: 15 (9) John 3: 16/ Rev. 20: 15/Eph. 6: 12 (10) Matt. 7: 24-27/Hosea 4: 6 (11) John 3: 5, 7, 16, 18 (12) 1Tim. 4: 1/2Tim. 4: 3, 4 (13) John 19: 30 (14) Matt. 7: 22-23 (15) 1Cor. 11: 26/Phil. 1: 27/John 14: 3