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Why Do We Celebrate Easter · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Hello everyone. It's good Friday today, but we are making
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  Speaker 1: our way quickly to Easter, my favorite holiday of the
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  Speaker 1: entire year. So why do we celebrate Easter to begin with?
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  Speaker 1: It's a great question that takes us back to the
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  Speaker 1: very roots of our confession and to the very basis
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  Speaker 1: of our faith. The question arrived recently in the inbox.
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  Speaker 1: Hello Pastor John. My name is William. I'm a fifteen
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  Speaker 1: year old new believer of about seven months. Your podcast
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  Speaker 1: has been a wonderful help for my journey of faith,
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  Speaker 1: and I thank God for your online ministry. Truly the
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  Speaker 1: Lord has blessed me through the wisdom he has given you.
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  Speaker 1: My question is this, what is the importance of Jesus's resurrection?
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  Speaker 1: Since Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins,
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  Speaker 1: why does it matter that he rose again? Is it
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  Speaker 1: essential for salvation? To believe? So, I've heard people deny
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  Speaker 1: that he physically resurrected, saying he only spiritually resurrected. What difference,
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, would this make.
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  Speaker 2: It's a great question, and there are great answers in
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  Speaker 2: the Bible. This is not a hard question to deal
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  Speaker 2: with because the resurrection is the greatest event along with
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  Speaker 2: the death of Jesus in the universe. It is greater
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  Speaker 2: than any galactic event that may embrace light years of
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  Speaker 2: distance and brightness a million times greater than our sun.
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  Speaker 2: The resurrection of Christ is greater. So before I give
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  Speaker 2: three reasons from the New Testament that the resurrection is
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  Speaker 2: essential to God's purposes in creation and salvation, let me
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  Speaker 2: just say clearly, affirming the bodily resurrection of Jesus is
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  Speaker 2: essential to being a Christian. Paul says in Romans ten nine,
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  Speaker 2: if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,
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  Speaker 2: and believe in your heart that God raised him from
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  Speaker 2: the dead, you'll be saved. Now, I know Acts sixteen
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  Speaker 2: thirty one that says this, believe on the Lord Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: and you will be saved. But when he said that
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  Speaker 2: believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,
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  Speaker 2: he did not mean believe on a dead man. When
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  Speaker 2: he said believe on the Lord, he meant he's Lord.
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  Speaker 2: He's Lord. You can't read Paul's letters and think he
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  Speaker 2: was Lord. And he's in the grave, he said in
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  Speaker 2: one Corinthian twelve three. No one can say Jesus is Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. He is Lord.
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  Speaker 2: You can't be a Christian if you only believe in
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  Speaker 2: a dead human being who was Lord. You can't. He
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  Speaker 2: is Lord, and Jesus's Lord is the fundamental Early Church confession.
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  Speaker 2: So here are three reasons why that the resurrection and
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  Speaker 2: consequently Easter is so important. It's important because of one
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  Speaker 2: the connection between Christ's resurrection and his death. Two, it's
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  Speaker 2: important because of the connection between Christ's resurrection and our resurrection.
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  Speaker 2: And three it's important because of the connection between Christ's
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  Speaker 2: resurrection and his present and future ministry. This takes us
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  Speaker 2: one at the time. Briefly, the connection between Christ's resurrection
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  Speaker 2: and his death considered two key passages Romans four to
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  Speaker 2: twenty five. Christ was delivered up to death on account
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  Speaker 2: of our trespasses and raised on account of our justification.
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  Speaker 2: That means that the resurrection was God's sovereign act to
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  Speaker 2: emblazon the triumph of Christ's death across the universe. The
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  Speaker 2: death of Christ successfully completed the foundational work of our justification.
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  Speaker 2: Nobody would be saved without God's declaring us just and
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  Speaker 2: righteous before his throne of justice, and Romans four twenty
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  Speaker 2: five says that the death of Christ so completely and
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  Speaker 2: successfully secures this justification that God put his omnipotent stamp
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  Speaker 2: of approval on it. By raising Jesus from the dead.
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  Speaker 2: The bodily resurrection of Jesus vindicated the saving success of
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  Speaker 2: the bloody death of Jesus. Here's the other text one
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  Speaker 2: Corinthians fifteen fourteen to eighteen. If Christ has not been raised,
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  Speaker 2: and he's talking bodily resurrection here, because you can see
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  Speaker 2: that in the rest of the chapter, if he's not
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  Speaker 2: been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your
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  Speaker 2: faith is in vain. If Christ has not been raised,
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  Speaker 2: your faith is futile. You are still in your sins.
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  Speaker 2: Now get that, Because Jesus died to remove the guilt
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  Speaker 2: of our sins, and Paul is saying, if he's not raised,
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  Speaker 2: you're still in your sins. Then those also who have
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  Speaker 2: fallen asleep have perished. In other words, Paul's preaching of
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  Speaker 2: the cross cross death is pointless if Christ was not
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  Speaker 2: raised from the dead. Feutile, he says, And we know
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  Speaker 2: it means bodily resurrection, because the rest of us Grinstance
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  Speaker 2: fifteen makes that clear. That's the kind of resurrection he's
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  Speaker 2: talking about you are still in your sins. They are
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  Speaker 2: not forgiven. The blood of Jesus is powerless, useless, a failure,
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  Speaker 2: it aborted if Christ was not raised from the dead
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  Speaker 2: Verse twenty. In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead,
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  Speaker 2: so the resurrection is important because of its connection to
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  Speaker 2: the death of Christ. Number two. The resurrection is important
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  Speaker 2: because of its connection between Christ's resurrection and our resurrection
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  Speaker 2: Fircutin's fifteen twenty. Christ has been raised from the dead
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  Speaker 2: the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. That
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  Speaker 2: means the resurrection is viewed as a one great harvest,
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  Speaker 2: and Christ's resurrection is the first fruits, the first stage
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  Speaker 2: of the resurrection that guarantees our resurrection or Romans six'.
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  Speaker 2: Five if we have been united with him in a
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  Speaker 2: death like, his we shall certainly be united with him
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  Speaker 2: in a resurrection like. His our resurrection will be owing
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  Speaker 2: to our union With. Christ who was. Raised he wasn't
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  Speaker 2: we won't be or Tewod corinthians four. Fourteen he who
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  Speaker 2: raised The Lord jesus will raise us also With. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: So christ's resurrection is important because ours depends on. His
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  Speaker 2: if he, wasn't we won't Be, finally number, three the
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  Speaker 2: resurrection Of christ is important because of the connection Between
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  Speaker 2: christ's resurrection and his present and future. Ministry the death
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  Speaker 2: Of christ was the purchase of our, salvation not the
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  Speaker 2: application or consummation of. It The bible describes much more
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  Speaker 2: to be done for our everlasting enjoyment of the glory
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  Speaker 2: Of god and the fellowship Of. Jesus christ's saving work
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  Speaker 2: goes on in his resurrection, body as he intercedes for,
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  Speaker 2: us and when he comes again in glory to establish his.
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  Speaker 2: Kingdom the goal of our eternal life is to enjoy
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  Speaker 2: and magnify the Living christ as he rules over his
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  Speaker 2: church and gives himself in service and fellowship to his.
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  Speaker 2: Bride it is a salvation of living. Fellowship if he weren't,
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  Speaker 2: alive we wouldn't have any. Salvation there would be nothing
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  Speaker 2: to enjoy forever and. Ever that is supremely. Satisfying so no,
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  Speaker 2: resurrection no, fellowship no, salvation no. Joy so consider these
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  Speaker 2: Texts romans six point. Nine we know That, christ being
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  Speaker 2: raised from the, dead will never die. Again death no
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  Speaker 2: longer has dominion over. Him romans eight thirty. Four who
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  Speaker 2: is to condemn? Us? Christ jesus is the one who
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  Speaker 2: died more than, that that's really, important more than that
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  Speaker 2: who was, ray, indeed who is at the right hand Of,
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  Speaker 2: god who is interceding for Us phesians one. Twenty god
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  Speaker 2: raised him from the dead and seated him at his
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  Speaker 2: right hand in the heavenly, places far above all rule and,
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  Speaker 2: authority and power and, dominion above all names that are.
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  Speaker 2: Named he put all things under his feet and gave
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  Speaker 2: him as head over all things to The, church which
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  Speaker 2: is his, body the fullness Of him who fills all in.
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  Speaker 2: All that's his present ministry today as all, supplying guide
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  Speaker 2: and head for The church Or acts seventeen thirty. One
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  Speaker 2: god is fixed today on which he will judge the
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  Speaker 2: world in righteousness by a man whom he has. Appointed
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  Speaker 2: so judgment is. Coming jesus is going to be the
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  Speaker 2: man who does the, judgment and of this he has
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  Speaker 2: given assurance by raising him from the. Day and, Finally
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  Speaker 2: colossians one, eighteen he is the, beginning the firstborn from the,
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  Speaker 2: dead that in everything he might be pre. Eminent so
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  Speaker 2: the resurrection Of jesus is all, important because his death
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  Speaker 2: would be ineffective without, it and because we would have
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  Speaker 2: no hope of resurrection without it and because the ministry
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  Speaker 2: Of jesus that he is performing right now and will
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  Speaker 2: perform forever for our everlasting joy would not exist without the.
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  Speaker 2: Resurrection together with the death Of. Jesus his resurrection is
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  Speaker 2: the all important event in the history of the.
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  Speaker 1: World no overstatement. There, Amen thank, You Pastor. John that's
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  Speaker 1: why we celebrate his death and resurrection this. Weekend in,
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  Speaker 1: particular and on behalf Of Pastor john and the entire
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  Speaker 1: team At Desiring good dot, org we're praying that you
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  Speaker 1: would have a, wonderful incredible weekend reflecting on the implications
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  Speaker 1: Of jesus's cross and his. Resurrection everything for, us everything
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  Speaker 1: for us hinges on these precious. Realities have a great celebration.
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  Speaker 1: Weekend we'll see you back here On. Monday