Easter Sunrise April 21, 2019
Easter Sunrise
John 20:1-18
April 21, 2019
“Is God Real? The Real God Rises with a Real Body”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Cubic Zirconia is a replacement for a real diamond. If you can’t afford a real diamond for whatever reason but you want the look of a diamond, then you can buy cubic zirconia which looks like the real deal but won’t last at all like a diamond will. There are other substitutes for diamonds also. But none of them, of course, are real diamonds.
For us to ask the question, “Is God real?” is very much like cubic zirconia saying, “Are diamonds real?” We are fading away in this world, dying, and we’re saying, “God, are You real?” It’s like gold-plated copper asking if gold is real. In this world, there are many things that are the real deal like gold and diamonds and silver and then there are many things that aren’t quite the real thing.
We aren’t quite the real thing. We’re not pure gold or silver. Because our nature is corrupted by sin. We’re fading and dying. Jesus, on the other hand, IS the real thing. He’s pure. He is risen and lives forever. When Jesus rises from the dead on Easter morning, His body is the real deal. He’s raised to never die again. We, even though we certainly are real, are fading and dying. We won’t last. Jesus will.
This is true of all this earth. Remember in Revelation the way the trees are described. They’re always alive and always bearing fruit. 12 months a year they’re bearing fruit. Our trees here, on the other hand, have been dead for months and are finally coming back to life. Now which trees would you say are more real? The ones that live forever and produce fruit all year long? Or the ones that only produce fruit about one month a year and are always dying and getting old and eventually fall over?
Or what about the water described in Revelation? Clear as crystal. You can see right through it. Our water, on the other hand, gets dirty and muddy and cloudy and you can’t even see into our lakes and rivers. Now which water would you say is more real?
Those of you who were here Thursday and Friday as we talked about this question, “Is God real?”, you will remember that the answer is “Yes, He’s real. He’s Jesus.” Jesus truly is the real deal. You don’t get any more real than Him. But we seem to struggle to understand that.
Now we’re not the only ones. The women and the disciples on Easter morning struggled to believe that Jesus was real. In fact, nobody really believed it. When the women first tell the apostles that the tomb is empty, it says that the disciples thought their words were an idle tale. It was just a lie. “Nobody rises from the dead. Everyone dies, right?”
Mary, when she meets Jesus at the tomb, thinks He’s the gardener. When she finally gets it that it’s Jesus, she grabs hold of Him so tightly almost like when you try desperately to hold onto a dream because you’re afraid you’re going to wake up. She’s not sure if He’s really there or if her mind is playing some kind of trick on her. So she grabs onto Him desperately and won’t let go.
Then there’s the disciples in the Upper Room on Easter night that think Jesus is a ghost. They’re terrified of Him. He can’t be real, right?! They have to get right up close to Him and touch Him and examine His skin and the nail marks in His hands and feet. They can’t make sense of it. Is He real? Jesus even asks them to get Him something to eat so that they can be absolutely sure that He’s the real deal.
What do you do when you’re not sure if you’re dreaming? You pinch yourself, right? What do they do when they’re not sure if they’re dreaming or if this is really Jesus? They pinch Him! They touch Him and hug Him and give Him something to eat.
Now who would you say is more real? Jesus who is risen from the dead in the flesh and will never die again? Or us who will live on this earth for, at the most, about 100 years and then die and our bodies decay and return to dust? Who’s more real?
But God has taken care of it. Jesus is the first, the “firstfruits”. We are the next. 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Romans 6:5, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
And 1 Corinthians 15, “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Did you hear the trumpet this morning? The trumpet’s already sounding. Jesus is risen! And His perfect and real body is a sign of what’s to come for all of us who believe in Him. We’re shouting at death this morning in our hymns and prayers and readings, “Where’s your victory? Where’s your sting?” Because even though it seems to be winning against us now as we fade and die, we know that when Jesus comes we will be like Him—perfect, real, immortal, and imperishable.
Do you know that your body—your body—is going to be raised perfectly real? Just as Jesus is. (Remember—how do you know God’s real? He’s Jesus.) And you will be raised like Jesus. It’s not that you’re unreal right now. You’re very real. But sin has brought death into our reality. Your body isn’t the problem. Your body is good and God will raise your body to live forever in heaven. But the problem here is sin. Sin so permeates our bodies that we get sick, we feel pain, we suffer, we age, we smell, we crave, we lust, we lose our temper, we become addicted, we die.
But Easter morning is our hope. Easter morning is our diamond. Our pure gold and silver. It shows what God is doing with us already right now. He is raising us to a perfect and real life in Jesus Christ. Not only for our souls. But for our bodies.
So let’s ask again, “Is God real?” And the answer is, “You’re going to find out just how real God is.” Easter morning is a glimpse of what’s to come. You think this is real? It is, but just wait until God raises your body and you get a glimpse of the eternal paradise. You’ll feel like everything else was just a cheap knock-off of the real thing.
If you want a small picture of this, you should read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. It’s a story about a man who lives in this dreary town where it’s always raining and everyone’s always arguing. One day he takes a bus trip that goes up through the clouds to a whole new world. When he gets there he and the other passengers are like ghosts, like vapor. Everything in this new place hurts them because it’s so real—right down to the blades of grass. The grass is so real and solid that it hurts to walk on it. They find out they’re in the foothills of heaven. And the closer you get to heaven throughout the book, the more solid and real the man becomes. And, finally, toward the end he comes to the realization that the world he left behind was only a small shadow of the one that awaits him in heaven.
God is preparing you for this reality. Right now He is. Right here in this world He’s teaching you and me to love the real things and not the fake things. He’s teaching you to work on things here in this earth that will last eternally and not just be left behind in dust and ashes. For instance, you are real. God made you just as you are. Your body is real and God will raise your body up to new life with Jesus. This creation is also real. Even though it’s corrupted by sin, God will restore it. So God teaches us to care for His creation. To care for trees that will be perfectly pure in paradise. To cherish water that will be clear as crystal in heaven. He teaches us to love the real things.
He teaches us to love other people. To love our family and friends because they too will be raised with us on the Last Day. To love Church. To love God’s Word. The Forgiveness of sins. The Lord’s Supper. To love prayer. To love work. To love music. To love science, studying God’s creation.
Is God real? More than we even know. Jesus is risen from the dead—the realest real you can be. And we shall be like Him. Follow Jesus and you will find the best of all reality.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.