Christ is Risen! - Easter Sermon
VBC Albuquerque · Apr 20, 2025
This sermon affirms that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Gospel and Christian faith. Without the Resurrection, the Gospel message and believers' faith are futile, and the apostles would be false witnesses. The sermon presents testimonies of the Resurrection from the first women, the apostles, Paul, and Scripture's vision of final resurrection.
The sermon opens by citing 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, in which Paul presents the core of the Gospel message: Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose on the third day according to Scripture. The Resurrection is not a minor detail but the center of the entire Gospel. The pastor emphasizes that if Christ has not been raised, then the Gospel message that the church proclaims would be utterly futile, and believers' faith would have no foundation.
The sermon continues by presenting direct scriptural testimonies to the Resurrection. The first women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and other women) found the empty tomb and were told by angels that the Lord had risen. They fled from the tomb in astonishment and fear, yet encountered the risen Lord themselves and were sent to report to the apostles. These testimonies were initially dismissed by the apostles as nonsense, but afterward Paul, Peter, and other apostles all confirmed that they had seen the risen Lord appear to them. Paul, though appearing more than twenty years later, also affirms that the risen Jesus appeared to him, and he can testify that over five hundred believers saw the risen Lord at one time, most of whom were still living at the time of his writing.
The sermon also addresses consequences of the Resurrection beyond individual salvation. Jesus Christ is seen as "the firstborn of the dead," opening the way for the final resurrection of all believers. When Christ returns, the dead will be raised imperishable, and the living will be transformed in an instant. Death, humanity's final enemy, will be destroyed in victory, and Scripture will be fully fulfilled when "death has been swallowed up in victory." The sermon also references the vision in Revelation 21:4 of the new heaven, where God will wipe away every tear, and there will be no more death, mourning, or suffering.
The sermon ultimately emphasizes the power of testimony to the Resurrection. Paul spent years bearing witness before judges, kings, and governors about this Resurrection event. Though called "mad" by Governor Festus, Paul firmly affirmed that he is not mad but speaks truth and reasonable words, because these events did not happen in secret but have many witnesses. This steadfastness of the apostles and early believers in witnessing to the Resurrection, despite ridicule and danger, demonstrates the authenticity of the event and its crucial importance to Christian faith.