Easter Is a Promise Kept
March 27, 2016

Scripture: Luke 24:36-49

I. At Easter Jesus kept the promise to die for our sins.

A. According to Luke 24:34 the only one of the original 12 disciples to have seen Jesus alive as of Easter evening was Peter. We see the reaction of those disciples when Jesus suddenly appeared to them in vs. 37. “They were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.” The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost. They had all heard Peter tell them that he had seen Jesus risen from the dead. But when they saw Jesus with their own eyes later that night they just could not believe it. They had zero expectation that they would ever see Jesus alive again.

B. Jesus began to talk about the promises that God kept at Easter in vs. 45 and 46, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer.’” In the Old Testament we read the story of Passover lambs that were sacrificed as a substitute for the people. But there was another Passover lamb promised. 1 Corinthians 5:7: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” When Jesus died on the cross, he died as the promised Passover lamb that would bring us God’s forgiveness.

II. At Easter Jesus kept the promise to rise from the dead.

A. Jesus mentioned the second promise of God for Easter that must happen in vs. 46. He said the first promise was that the Christ should suffer. And the second promise was that the Christ would on the third day rise from the dead. This promise that Jesus would be resurrected on the third day is found in the Old Testament Jesus said. One place where Christ’s resurrection is prophesied is in Hosea 6:2: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”

B. The promise that God made about Jesus being raised on the third day was not just good for Jesus. It is also good for you and for me. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22: “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.” The picture here is of farming fruit. The first fruit is Jesus. He is the first one who is resurrected from the dead. But he is certainly not the last.

III. At Easter Jesus kept the promise to bring Good News to all people.

A. Jesus said there would be a third promise kept: that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations (vs. 47). Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God’s promise to Abraham: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Everyone in the world would be blessed through Abraham and his greatest descendant: Jesus.

Application:
Receive God’s promised forgiveness and commit to follow Christ.

Sources:
The Gospel of Luke
Commentary on Luke by Darrell Bock
Sermon by R. Kent Hughes