Honor Christ on Resurrection Day

Welcome to God First with Brian C. Thomas, a program committed to encouraging you to put God first while viewing life through the window of the Bible.

Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, let's join Brian C. Thomas for today's message. Well, we gather this week as we come to commemorate this most sacred time of year, this time in which we look at the death of our Lord Jesus. We look at his sacrifice on the cross and we commemorate this time because had it not been for his sacrifice, we would all be eternally lost. Because the Bible tells us that the wage of sin is death. And the only way that sin can be atoned for was through a perfect sacrifice. And no human being could do it because all have sinned and fallen short. And so the only way by which we could be saved from eternal damnation was by God himself coming to the earth.

And that is exactly what he did. He took on the form of a man and he came to sacrifice himself, his life, so that we might have eternal life. And so we are forever grateful for what our Lord has done for us as there is no greater love that can be found than that in our Lord God. And Jesus is God.

Jesus is God in the flesh. So we come to commemorate the sacrifice of our great Lord. And then we come also to celebrate because he didn't stay in the grave.

He conquered sin and he conquered death. And the Bible says he rose from the grave on the third day. And so we come to to honor and to commemorate, to celebrate our great Lord and all that he has done for us. So today we're going to look in our main text, the book of Mark, chapter 16, verses one through eight.

So if you will, please turn your Bibles there with me to again, Mark, chapter 16, verses one through eight. And we're going to look at this account regarding the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint him very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

But he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him as he said to you. So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb for they trembled and were amazed.

And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid. Heavenly Father, we come, Lord, giving you thanks. We give you honor, Lord. We commemorate you on this day, Lord, for your great sacrifice, as there is no greater love than your love for us. We pray, Lord, that all things that are spoken on this day, that it be nothing but sound doctrine. And may you be honored and glorified in all things in your name, Jesus.

Amen. Our great Lord is risen. Our great Lord did not stay on the cross.

Our great Lord did not stay in the grave. And so we come today to celebrate the victory of our Lord Jesus overseeing and over death. I've been having some interesting conversations with some people in the weeks leading up to this great holiday that we often refer to as Easter that I like to refer to as Resurrection Day.

And we've been having some discussions about how we go about recognizing and celebrating these holy days of our Lord. And so I've had people to come to me and they've asked the question of what about the Easter Bunny? What about the Easter egg?

And so so so this year I want to address that question. What about the bunny and what about the egg? I was talking to a friend of mine who is a man and he has a son and he was telling me of an account of his son when he was about the age of five to six years old. And he said they were Christians and they were church attenders and they would take their children, he and his wife. And and they would go to church throughout the year for all occasions.

And and when it came to to Easter, their church would hold Easter egg hunts. And he said that they had been taking their children in this little boy that he had was very inquisitive. He said he was one that you had to give an explanation for things and he he loved to ask questions about why is this this way and why this thing?

The things work that way. He he was always inquiring, wanting to know the inner workings of things. And so very inquisitive young boy. And he said when he was around the age of five or six, following one of these Easter egg hunts, they had gone to at the church and they came home and he said the little boy. He had a children's Bible that he had been reading a Bible that has the accounts of of the more well-known events of the Bible. And so he said the little boy came to him and he said, Daddy, I'm trying to to find the account of the Easter Bunny. I'm trying to find something about the bunny and the egg in my children's Bible, he said. But, Daddy, I don't I don't see it.

I can't find it. So his daddy sort of stood there looking somewhat bewildered. He said he was trying to decide on how to respond to his son. And so he said the son then chimed in. He said, Well, Daddy, maybe it's in the adult version of the Bible. He said, Daddy, how about let's look in your Bible and find it. And so his daddy, of course, knowing that it's not there, he grabbed his Bible and began just flipping the pages slowly just to buy himself some time to try to figure out what to say to his young son. And so the little boy continued to talk as he was flipping the pages and he said, Daddy, I found the flood and I found the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And he said, Daddy, I found this and I found that, he said. But, Daddy, I just don't see anything about the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg. And so as his daddy continued to flip the pages after a while, the little boy said, Daddy, is it not there? And my friend said he decided to tell him, son, no, it is not in the Bible. The little boy said, Well, Daddy, why do we celebrate it at church if it's not in the Bible?

So that is what I want to talk with you about today is. How and why do we celebrate in certain ways when it comes to our Lord? Now, in the past, I have spoken on and I have written material commentary concerning the background, concerning the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg and how these things came to be within the way we look at Resurrection Day or as again, so many call Easter. And I thought about sharing that today, but but I decided not to go into all the background concerning the the idol God of fertility.

And in those things and paganism and how so many believe that it derived from that, because actually in my research, I have found through some credible sources that is actually in question as to if those things truly have. Paganism or idolatry as their origin, and so I sort of step back for a moment and I thought about rather than going through the history of all that, I'm just going to talk to you today about honoring our Lord Jesus, because that is what it's all about. When we have these special days, it is to to remember our Lord. It is to celebrate.

It is to honor him. And, you know, I have a birthday coming up. Now, my wife will will often ask me about a dessert that I want for my birthday, and she knows that I am more than likely. I'm going to say a pineapple cake because that's that's my favorite cake.

But let's say that we have a celebratory gathering for my birthday and. My wife decides to make a coconut cake. Well, everybody knows I do not like coconut. So so so what if she were to do that and and everybody gathered there, they love coconut, but I am the one that the occasion is to be celebrating for. And so so so she would not give me a coconut cake at my party because she knows that that would not be celebratory to me. It would not be a way of celebrating me and that that special day. And so that is what we have to keep in mind when when we look at how do we approach things like Christmas and things like Easter and and just the different days in which we we are gathering to to honor our Lord Jesus, because it should be things that are honoring to him.

We should make sure we're always honoring our Lord. Now, with that said, am I going to stand here today to tell you that the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg is wrong? Am I going to stand here today and tell you that it is a sin?

Because that may be what you're expecting. The answer is no. I'm not going to say that those things are wrong in and of themselves. I'm not going to say those things are sin because, again, there are very credible sources out there that that say it is in question as to whether these things truly are rooted in paganism. It it may not have that origin as as so many have believed. But again, even if it is not sin, even if it is not wrong, should we do it still when it comes to this day of honoring our Lord for this resurrection day?

Because there are some things for us that we are allowed to do. But the question is, is it profitable when we honor our Lord? You are listening to Brian C. Thomas on God First. For more of Brian's teachings, please visit Godfirst.org to browse our extensive library of material. There you will find devotionals, blogs, articles and audio messages available as MP3 downloads on various topics such as salvation, Bible prophecy, marriage and the significance of Lesson Israel, just to name a few.

You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter and visit our Web store. So please visit us at Godfirst.org. Now, let's return to the conclusion of today's message. In the book of Mark, Chapter 14, when we look at verse 60, we find again, the high priest asked him, saying to him, Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, What further need do we have witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy.

What do you think? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on him and to blindfold him and to beat him and to say to him, prophesy.

And the officer struck him with the palms of their hands. Our Lord suffered. Our Lord was mocked. We see here they spit on him.

They struck him. To mock him for claiming who he was, which was the son of God, which is God in the flesh. Mark 15, 16 through 20 reads, Then the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. And they clothed him with purple and they twisted a crown of thorns, put on his head and began to salute him. Hail, king of the Jews. Then they struck him on the head with a reed and spat on him and bow on the knee.

They worship him. And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, put his own clothes on him and led him out to crucify him. We see the way in which our Lord was mistreated again.

The crown of thorns again, the spitting on him, the the the mock worshiping of him. And the Bible tells us that Jesus was beaten to the point of being beyond recognition. You know, we see in these movies the passion of the Christ, which I think was a very good depiction of what our Lord went through. And we we see that and how badly our Lord was beaten and bloodied and scarred. But but even that does not do it justice because the Bible tells us that he was beaten so badly.

He was he was so swollen and bruised that he did not look like a human being. That was the amount of suffering that our Lord went through. So when we look at this in this context, we have to ask ourselves the question. When we are remembering what our Lord did, his sacrifice, his death. Are we doing it in ways that are honoring to his suffering? Is our celebrating. Giving just recognition to the way in which our Lord.

Was mocked, was beaten, was was ridiculed. And suffered for our sins. And so so we have to ask ourselves a question again about the bunny and the egg. Do those things bring honor to our Lord Jesus?

That's the question we have to ask ourselves. As we continue to look at. The Book of Mark, Chapter 15. We continue to see the account of our Lord's sacrifice. The Book of Mark, Chapter 15, looking at verse twenty five. Now it was the third hour and they crucified him and the inscription of his accusation was written above the king of the Jews with him. They also crucified two robbers, one on his right and the other on his left. So the scripture was fulfilled, which says he was numbered with the transgressors and those who passed by blaspheme him, wagging their heads and saying, aha, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests, also mocking among themselves with the scribe, said he saved others him himself.

He cannot save. Let the Christ, king of Israel, descend now from the cross that we might see and believe. Even those who were crucified with him reviled him. I'm glad that Jesus did not feel the need to prove himself. I'm glad that our Lord did not feel the need to show who he was by coming down from the cross because he could have.

He had the power to do so. But had he done so, we would all again be headed for eternal damnation. And I said earlier that we celebrate because our Lord did not stay on the cross. And the reason he did not stay was because after he died, then they took him down from the cross. But while he was yet alive, he had the power, the ability to come down to prove his mockers wrong. But our Lord stayed there so that we might have eternal life because, again, a perfect sacrifice was needed.

And so I am forever grateful to our Lord Jesus for staying on the cross. They mocked our Lord. And then the scripture goes on to say in the book of Mark, chapter 15, that darkness was over the whole land until the ninth hour. And then in the ninth hour, he cried out in a in a in a voice which translated, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And some of those who stood by when they heard that said, look, he is calling for Elijah. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. So our Lord yet died. And in this half hour of a sermon, there's no way I can give true justice to what our Lord went through through the suffering that he experienced.

Just the amount of time on the cross itself, but how he was beaten. And the Bible says he knew because of what he was going to go through, he sweat as if it was drops of blood because he knew that he was going to experience as bad as the physical suffering was. The worst part of it was that he was going to experience being separated from the father for the first time in existence. Remember, Jesus Christ, again, is God. He is God, the son. And so for eternity past, he had always been in the presence of God, the father, God, the Holy Spirit. But for that moment, he would be separated from God, the father. As the Bible says that God, the father turned his back on him. And so Jesus felt the weight of what it would be like for all of mankind, for every person who's ever lived to be separated from God, the father. And that is what is the price for all who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

And so our Lord felt that our Lord suffered. So as we go back to the question again, what about the bunny and what about the egg? You see, we have to ask ourselves the question, are we honoring what our Lord did for us? I can't sit here and tell you that to participate in an Easter egg hunt or to have candy that that is wrong.

If you can do those things and still honor our Lord Jesus, I saw a church just the other day that they had a post in talking about an Easter egg hunt. This was online and on Facebook, on their Facebook page. But but also on that same page, they had a had a gallery showing pictures in which they held a class in which all the children were gathered around. And they were telling them of of Jesus and his death and his his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection. Now, see, they are giving balance to it and they are explaining to the children. This is why we we celebrate because it's about Jesus Christ. So are you keeping Jesus Christ in the forefront? Now, me personally, my wife and I, we made the decision not to have our children participate in the Easter egg hunts and the the bunny and the eggs.

We we've made that decision because we want to make sure that that is their focus. Because I know of people who said that as children, that the thought of Easter, that that was what came to mind for them was the candy, the hunt. They said they didn't think about Jesus. That wasn't in the forefront of their mind because it was all about candy.

It was all about playing, having a good time. And yes, we celebrate in the Bible doesn't tell us how to celebrate. Just like in birthday parties, as I touched on earlier, there's no there's no document that says we have to celebrate it in a certain way. So you can you can celebrate it in the way you you like your heart desires, as long as it is not immoral. But you still celebrate in the way that you are celebrating that person whose birthday it is. And so when it comes to this whole idea of the bunny and the egg, and I have to point out, though, that just in case anyone does not know, bunnies do not lay eggs. And so you you are planting a deception there within children by making a connection to something that is not true. But again, with that said, stepping back and looking at the big picture, this is to be a time of celebration to honor our Lord. And if you can do that, along with the candy, along with the eggs now, and I'm really changing because people that know me know that I just a few years ago, I would have said, no, you are absolutely wrong.

If you have an Easter bunny and egg incorporated into this event. But again, I've stepped back a little bit because of some things that I have recently uncovered that says, well, maybe these things are not rooted in paganism. But we have to be careful because the devil wants to distract us. And I think he uses things so often, especially with your little children, to distract them from what the real cause is. And the real cause is our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is to be the center. And that is what we should always stay focused on. I'm going to close with this because the question comes, is it wrong? Is it sin? First Corinthians 6 12 says all things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

So we have to ask ourselves the question. It could be lawful. It could be OK to to have a bunny and to have an egg.

But but is it profitable? Is it again glorifying? Is it honoring our Lord? If you are telling children that the bunny comes around when they're asleep and leaves these eggs, that's just simply not true. And I will say that that is wrong to tell them that.

Just like I tell people for Christmas, if you're telling them the Santa Claus is coming in and leaving presents, that is wrong. That is not true. But the apostle goes on to say in First Corinthians 10 that all things are lawful for me, but not all but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the others will being. And then he goes on to talk about the eating of meats and whether it is something that you can do with a conscious concerning the sacrificing of them to idols.

So. So the question, folks, is what about the bunny and what about the egg? I personally choose to leave those things out because I personally do not want to take anything away. From Jesus Christ being the focus, his sacrifice, his death, eternal life.

That's a that's that's the most serious matter that there is. And so I choose to leave those things out to focus on what he truly did. But if you can honor him in any kind of way in which you celebrate, as long as you are honoring our Lord Jesus, that is what matters. And so we come to celebrate him. We come to honor him on this great and wonderful day. Lord Jesus, we thank you for this time again, Lord. We are forever grateful for your great sacrifice, Lord, for your great love. And Lord, we just look forward to that day when you will come back for us. We look forward to that day when the trumpet will sound, when there will be the shout from the archangel from heaven, and we will be caught up to meet you in the air.

And for all those who have believed and put their faith and trust in you and have yet died, they will be resurrected to eternal life in the same way in which you rose from the grave. And so, Lord, we thank you. We celebrate you as the first fruits of the resurrection. And Lord, we just come today to worship you. We come to honor you, to adore you. And Lord, we are forever grateful and we forever give you the glory, the honor and all of the praise.

Lord Jesus, please, Lord, let your word go forth into this sin darkened world and let all know who have not received you that they need you as the savior or else they are headed for eternal damnation. And so on this resurrection weekend, Lord, we just honor you. We praise you. We glorify your holy name as the great one, the one who came and sacrificed for us.

The one who conquered death, the one who conquered sin, and the one who is now seated at the right hand of the father waiting for the command to come back for your bride, the church. And so, Lord, we look forward to that day as we depart from here. Lord, we remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel and unto you, the only wise God, be glory through our Lord Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. You've been listening to the Bible teacher, Brian C. Thomas, founder and president of God First. Brian and God First reserve all copyright protection under applicable law. Our copyright policy is available at our website, Godfirst.org. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, bless God's great nation of Israel and seek first the kingdom of God.