After Easter Conversations

Easter is over. Hopefully, you attended Easter services with friends and family or were able to catch a service online. For many of us, we enjoyed this time celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Throughout Monday, I have enjoyed some after Easter conversations with church members, students, and family regarding some of the details from the Gospel of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Rather than rehearse the entire conversations, for the sake of brevity, let me point you to significant events that happened in and around the resurrection to first, encourage you, and second, provide you some after Easter conversation opportunities.

Many People Were Resurrected that Weekend

The Gospel of Matthew describes many resurrections in addition to Jesus’ resurrection. Notice how Matthew describes it:

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:51-53)

Many bodies of the saints who were dead were raised. Matthew describes that they waited until after Jesus’ resurrection before they went throughout Jerusalem.

Think about that. Many people were raised from death to life. No wonder around fifty days later when Peter preached thousands were saved. Jerusalem must have been in an uproar all the way from the Triumphal Entry (Matthew 21) through the arrest and death of Jesus (Matthew 27) to the Resurrection (Matthew 28) and culminating with the Ascension (Acts 1). Then, Peter preaches in Acts 2 and the first thousands of thousands begin to get saved.

 

Many People Saw and Interacted with the Post-Resurrected Jesus

After Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus interacted with Mary and the other ladies at the tomb first, then the Apostles without Thomas, and finally with Thomas as well. But, of course, they were not the only ones. The Gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ interaction with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). The Apostle Paul makes a short list when he described the certainty of the resurrection to the Corinthians.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

In this text, Paul emphasized how many people saw the resurrected Jesus. Hundreds and hundreds interacted with Him. Don’t forget, some ate with Him on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14).

 

Luke Summarizes Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances

At the beginning of the Book of Acts, Luke summarizes the many appearances of Jesus over the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension. He writes:

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:1-3)

Luke describes “many infallible proofs.” In other words, he points out how Jesus’ appearances and interaction with many people after His resurrection provided convincing proof that He lives.

How exciting! In the historical record, which was emphasized in the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ ascension, in many and various ways, we are given proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For these things, we are grateful. You would never write a story like this – including the witness and indispensable place of the women at the tomb and the resurrection – if it were made up. Instead, real people in real time provided eyewitness account of what took place at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross, His resurrection, and the forty days afterwards.

As I mentioned above, and we wonder why so many thousands were ready to be saved beginning at Pentecost.

 

One Last Encouragement

These are all accounts of witnesses. Jesus gave them the power to be witnesses – but not to them only. Jesus also gave us the power to be witnesses (cf., Acts 1:8). Just as so many accepted Jesus as their personal Savior in that day because of the witness of those who saw and interacted with Him, we also can help those around us accept Jesus as well through our own personal witness.

 

Sonrise Easter Service Links

Here are links to Sonrise’s Easter service.

Podcast Link:

 

On Spotify:

 

Facebook Live Video:

 

YouTube (sermon only):

 

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